Model Behavior
by WriterFreak001
Summary: "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." Although this does have lots of Waige, this self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. [[ More Inside ]]. Rated T (for now).
1. Conviction

**WriterFreak001:**

This idea came to me in a dream, and I just had to write it out. It'll most likely be no more than five chapters, but we'll see. I don't think it'll be a long story, though.

* * *

 **WARNING: **

This story will handle sensitive material involving sex trafficking. There will be some angst during the actual case itself, but for the most part, the events leading up to the assignment will be somewhat humorous. This story will be mainly Paige's point of view, and if you find _anything_ inaccurate with what I am writing in this story, PLEASE tell me.

You are under no obligation to read this story at all, and I won't be upset if you stop, but **please no flames**. If something upsets you, contact me via PM and let me know so I can fix whatever inaccuracies I may accidentally include.

* * *

 **Title** | Model Behavior

 **Fandom** | _Scorpion_ (CBS)

 **Description** | "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." This self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. She will be challenged in unexpected ways and may have to depend on her own strength to save not only her life, but also her freedom as she tries to save others in the process.

 **Rating** | This fanfiction will be rated T.

 **POV** | Limited Third Person

 **Disclaimer** | While CBS owns _**Scorpion**_ , I am the owner of this masterpiece.

 **Claimer** | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something _should_ be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 1:  
**

 **Conviction**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

"Absolutely not," Paige leaned against her desk and shook her head violently as the team slowly closed in on her. Everyone except for Walter was silently imploring her to participate, but she wasn't going to cave so easily. "No means no. I won't do it."

"You have to," Toby crossed his arms. "You're the _only_ one who could pass off as a supermodel! We're too ugly and hairy, and Happy, as beautiful as she is, doesn't meet the height requirement for the competition."

"Doesn't matter," Paige folded her arms in front of her and frowned. "I'm willing to do a lot for this team on a regular basis, but I draw the line at impersonating a bikini model at a competition, involving me wearing a skimpy swimsuit in front of a crowd of drooling porn addicts!"

"Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic about all of this?" Toby cocked an eyebrow, and Paige sent him an evil glare. He threw his hands up in defense. "You're overgeneralizing. _Not_ all of those men are going to be porn addicts; at _least_ a handful will be porn producers. Probably. Most likely. Actually? You know what?" Toby forced a laugh, "I'm certain most of the audience will be fashion magazine reporters."

Without warning, Happy jabbed her elbow into Toby's side and grumbled, "Not helping."

"Paige," Cabe was the next one to speak. "I know it's a lot asking you to do this for us, but if we don't send someone in undercover, our intel on the sex trafficking scouts is useless. They need to be caught in the act; otherwise, we might not get another chance. No one is forcing you to go undercover, but we can't make a solid case without you."

"It's still not going to happen," Paige shook her head again. "Hire a bimbo if you must, Cabe. I'm sure there are plenty of willing women ready to show off their bods to horny men."

"Still overgeneralizing," Toby mumbled audibly.

Paige ignored him and added, "Find your girl elsewhere because _I'm_ not doing it."

"You're being a little bit ridiculous," Toby chuckled, receiving another jab to the ribs from his girlfriend.

"No. I'm not. I have an eleven year old to think about. You guys are asking me to risk my life… _possibly_ my freedom… to gather intel on sex trafficking lords. I'm basically being used as bait! Hell, no."

"We've gone against far worse, and _now_ you're just worried about Ralph?" Toby couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, Miss Dineen, but your excuse is kind of worthless right now. I get it; you're scared shitless, but are you seriously going to let your fear get in the way of stopping those bastards? Think about the greater good!"

"Are you even hearing yourself?" Paige placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. " _This_ is a CIA case, and while I understand they recruited Scorpion to infiltrate the competition on a technological front, I don't see why _I_ have to be roped into their undercover operation. I'm not trained in martial arts; if something goes wrong, I can't protect myself, and there's a great possibility I would never see my son again. Of all people, _why_ me?"

"S-she does have a point," Sylvester stammered from behind Cabe. "Statistically, a CIA agent would have a 90% chance of success; Paige, on the other hand…." He didn't dare finish his statement. "A-anyway, we're tech geeks, and Paige is our translator. She's not cut out for such a dangerous mission."

"Paige," Happy clapped her hands together and captured the young mother's attention. "It'll be an easy case. You go in, you strut your stuff, and then you follow CIA's instructions. Should be pretty easy, and according to our dossiers, you won't be technically going in alone…. We just won't be walking on stage with you."

"Doesn't matter," Paige crossed her arms again and tapped her fingers slowly. "I _don't_ want to do it. Yes, I admit, one of the reasons I won't do this is because I'm scared of what _could_ happen if things go south, but the other reason is because I have a little something called _dignity_. I'm not just about to willingly catwalk on a walkway, wearing a G-string bikini and act like I actually _enjoy_ showing off my body to random strangers. Again, like I said. Not happening."

"Man up, Dineen." Happy frowned as she shoved her hands into her pockets. "The CIA wouldn't be recruiting you to go undercover if they didn't have a good enough reason. Swallow your damn pride and show Central Intelligence _exactly_ what you're made of."

"I certainly don't think that's going to be a problem," Toby deadpanned before receiving yet another jab in the ribs. "Would you _stop_ that?!"

Happy rolled her eyes, and added, "Like I said, the CIA's hands are tied for whatever reason; I'm sure we'll get more information about the case once the deputy director gets here so… before you get your panties in a wad, at least hear her out first."

"Guys," Walter finally spoke, "I agree with Paige."

"You always agree with Paige," Cabe, Toby and Happy said in unison, receiving a glare from the super genius.

" _Anyway_ ," Walter cleared his throat, "Paige is right; she's not cut out for this assignment. CIA agents… even Homeland agents… take weeks to train for undercover operations like these; Paige would only have hours, at best. While she would certainly look the part," Walter paused as everyone, including Paige, raised their eyebrows at him, "W-what I m-mean to say is…," he began to stutter, "b-because of h-her fl-flawless genetics," he swallowed thickly and cleared his throat, "P-Paige just doesn't have the combat training she would need for a high-demanding case like this."

Walter glanced over at Paige, and she sent him an appreciative smile before she turned to Cabe. " _Please_ ," she bit her lip, "I implore you, have CIA find someone else."

Cabe, knowing he couldn't force Paige into doing something she didn't want to do, sighed and nodded. "I'll give Katherine a call and see what I can do."

"That won't be necessary," Katherine Cooper said as she walked into the garage with another woman in tow. "CIA just received new intel on the case, and Agent Teresa Carver has been appointed by the director of Central Intelligence to serve as Scorpion's liaison during this assignment. After the information CIA received, two more models have disappeared from last night's showing. That's altogether six models missing within two days. Tonight is the last showing for the preliminaries, and if we don't act quickly, we may never find those women."

Walter frowned as he rubbed his chin perceptibly. "How is CIA receiving its intel exactly? Have there been missing person reports?"

"No. We have a CI working within the facility." Agent Carver replied swiftly.

"And why can't this CI do what needs to be done?" Paige asked as she pushed herself away from her desk and approached the women slowly. "Why do you need me?"

"First of all, our CI is not a qualified agent. He is an acquaintance of a fellow coworker, and after he started his job as a janitor at the arena a few days ago, he noticed something was fishy and called it in. We sent in an agent to follow-up on his suspicions, and she was one of the first to disappear. Five more women went missing after her so you can see why we are pressing for time. If we don't infiltrate the competition tonight, there is a strong chance we won't find any of the missing women."

"But how do we even know we're up against sex trafficking scouts? How do we know the perpetrator isn't some serial killer after young, sexy women?" Paige asked, still unconvinced why _she_ had to be the one to risk her life.

"That information is classified," Agent Carver replied quickly.

"If I agree to do this, which I haven't, but if I do, then I'm not going in blind," Paige parked her feet in front of the female agent and folded her arms in front of her. "Apparently you're desperate enough to involve an untrained person like me to impersonate a bikini model in a sensitive case in which _your_ agents couldn't get the job done. So _excuse_ me for being curious, but if you _really_ need me on this assignment, then you better tell me everything you know whether it's classified or not. Otherwise, find someone else."

Everyone behind Paige, especially Walter, smirked as their manager challenged the CIA agent and firmly stood her ground.

Agent Carver sighed loudly. There wasn't time to argue. "Fine," she pushed her blonde bangs back, "I will tell you everything I know, but if any of you breathe a word of this to anybody, you will be tried for treason."

Katherine angled her body towards Agent Carver and raised an eyebrow. She, too, was curious with what the agent was hiding from her.

"This is not the first time an agent went undercover at a bikini modeling competition. Five years ago, in France, there was a similar event taking place in Paris, and Interpol got themselves involved after receiving word from an anonymous caller that this competition was a ruse for sex trafficking scouts to capture and collect. By the time Interpol responded to the tip, four women from different European countries, were missing. And, not long after that, Interpol's agents went missing as well. Only one woman, who just so happened to be one of the agents, was found after months of searching. She was dehydrated and doped up with Flunitrazepam – commonly known as Rohypnol, a date-rape drug – when Interpol found her discarded body in the middle of an alleyway in Ukraine. She was on the brink of death, but she survived, and after a long road to recovery, she eventually told Interpol what was done to her."

"That's horrible," Paige mumbled as the color drained from her face. "And you want _me_ to do the same thing as she did before _she_ was taken? _Fantastic_."

"Paige," Walter approached her from behind and gently touched her arm. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. We are simply contractors for the government; we have a right to refuse to take cases, especially from the CIA. We _don't_ owe them anything."

"Thank you, Walter," Paige whispered towards him as she casually covered his hand with hers. "Your support means a lot to me."

She discreetly rubbed her thumb over his knuckles and sweetly smiled at him as Cabe took a step towards Agent Carver and returned everybody's attention to the conversation at hand. "Could the Interpol agent identify her captors?"

"Not likely," Toby said, answering for Agent Carver. "Flunitrazepam, if used excessively, has dangerous side effects. Not only is it addictive as hell, but it also can cause amnesia. Remember when Walt was roofied by that chick a few months ago? Imagine _his_ side effects times ten. That's how ugly the drug can be, and if used with certain forms of alcohol or other drugs, it can be lethal too."

"Then how could she remember what had happened to her if she had amnesia?" Paige blinked as she tried to wrap her mind about what she _might_ be signing herself up for.

Toby shrugged. "The brain is a wonderful marvel. Something could have triggered a memory, or it's also possible she wasn't doped up 24/7. There's no certain way of knowing how she could recall what had happened to her, but if the CIA is up against the same scouts, then they're probably smart if they've gone untraced for this long."

"Again," Paige redirected her attention towards Agent Carver, "Why me?"

"We can't recruit just anybody; because you work for the government, you have limited clearance for governmental issues, and you fit the profile for the woman you would be impersonating. Not _only_ do you look like her, but you were also raised in the South, correct?"

Paige slowly nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. But practically _anybody_ can fake a Southern accent."

"True," Agent Carver agreed, "but not everybody is trusted by the government."

Paige snorted at the woman's comment as the geniuses behind her tried to contain their amusement. "Sorry, it's just…" Paige suppressed her smile, "The government, especially after our last encounter with the CIA, barely has a reason to trust us, and we hardly have a reason to trust _you_ guys so… forgive me if I find that response somewhat rehearsed."

"Miss Dineen," Agent Carver frowned, "This is a time-sensitive case, and I was instructed to recruit Scorpion for the mission. You've all received your dossiers, and are privy to classified knowledge, and if you don't undergo this assignment and take part in your duty to the government, then I can't guarantee a favorable outcome towards you and your team."

"Is that a threat?" Paige step forward as her other team members also advanced towards the woman.

"It doesn't have to be," was all the agent said before glancing at the deputy director. "If Scorpion does not agree to this mission, then my hands will be tied, and I will be forced to report them to my superiors. And _if_ these sex trafficking scouts disappear with the missing women, and our agent vanishes with them, then Scorpion will be charged with treason for ignoring their duty to their country and to the world."

"With all due respect, Agent Carver, I understand Scorpion's hesitation, especially Miss Dineen's. She was ambushed with this assignment, and it's not fair for her to make such a decision on short notice. I am curious, why not have another CIA agent go in her place? It's what they're trained for, correct?"

"True as that may be," Agent Carver punctuated, "we have circumstantial reason to believe the scouts have somehow required intel on our agents, and thus, we can't risk another one. It's better to send in a nobody instead."

" _Excuse me_!?" Paige exclaimed loudly, "W-what did you just say?!"

"I think she just called you disposable," Toby retorted with a taste of anger in his words.

"That's what I heard too, Doc." Happy frowned as Sylvester nodded vigorously.

"Me three," Cabe grumbled lowly.

Walter suddenly stepped in front of Paige and clenched his fists, ready to slug the woman. "Paige is _not_ by any means expendable. We _don't_ have to take this case, and Paige _doesn't_ have to do _anything_ she's not comfortable with. We agreed to hear you out and learn more about the assignment; we did _not_ agree to take it."

Agent Carver closed her eyes and sighed loudly as she rubbed her temples. "I didn't mean to say Miss Dineen is dispensable. All I meant was that the scouts wouldn't have a reason to suspect her, hence a _nobody_."

After a long period of silence, Paige brushed the back of her fingers along Walter's arm as she circled around him and heaved a loud sigh. "Are you sure there is no one else capable of this assignment?"

"I wouldn't be here groveling if there was," the agent said stoically.

Paige inhaled a deep, shaky breath and released it slowly. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Then we should get straight to business," Agent Carver said as she grabbed Paige's hand, but Paige ripped her hand out of the woman's grasp.

"I wasn't done talking. I have my terms."

Agent Carver clenched her fists and pursed her lips before forcing a smile. "I'm listening."

"I said I would do it, but I'm not doing it because CIA wants me too. I'm doing it because I have a son. I'm doing it because those women are probably wives, mothers, daughters and sisters of people they love, and I don't want to be the reason they are taken away from their families. If I was forcibly taken away from my baby boy, I don't know what I would do. I don't know how I would handle myself if I never saw my son again. I am fearing that possibility, but those women are living it, and that is why I am choosing to do this assignment. This has nothing to do with the CIA, nothing to do with my work here with Scorpion and nothing to do with me, but everything to do with them and the people they could be unwillingly leaving behind. This is _not_ the CIA forcing me to go undercover. I am volunteering. I'll do what you need me to do to save those women, as long as you promise me you won't target Scorpion if something goes wrong."

"That can be arranged," the woman sighed and nodded hesitantly.

"And however I need to prep, I'll prep here, and meet you wherever you need me to meet you at whatever time you need me. No sooner." Paige added with piercing eyes.

"Fine," Agent Carver pursed her lips. "I'll have Deputy Director Cooper give you all the information you need." Though the agent wasn't happy with Paige's terms, she was desperate. As she turned around to head for the door, Paige spoke up again.

"I'm not done. I have one more term."

"What," the agent, obviously aggravated, snapped.

"I get to choose what I wear at that competition. I'm not going to wear that skimpy thing. Ever. I'll wear what's comfortable to _me_."

"Fine, but if you get caught because you chose to wear something else, then CIA will not be responsible with what happens. You made it very clear that you are not part of CIA so, in order to respect your terms, we will not treat you like an agent. We will aid you when needed, but if you get into trouble because you refused to work on our behalf, then you are on your own." Without another word, the agent left in a huff and slammed the door behind her.

Paige, though proud of herself for standing up to the woman, suddenly grew weak in the knees and wanted to vomit. She had just signed herself up for a dangerous undercover assignment, and because of her big fat mouth, she practically denied all help from the CIA to back her up on this case. She grasped her heart and bent over to catch her breath as her courage drained away.

"Walter! You need to calm her! She's going into shock!" Toby exclaimed loudly.

As Paige's world started to spin, a pair of hands gently gripped her cheeks, and she heard a soothing voice talking to her in jumbled, alien-like phrases. It was like her whole world was deafening around her, and then all at once, her senses crashed together and pierced her mind as she heard his calm voice continuing to speak to her. She still wasn't sure what he was saying; she was hearing the words but made no sense of them. She found a pool of dark brown irises staring deeply into hers, and as she focused solely on his eyes, she could hear him counting slowly. Her breaths slowed, and her own voice, as though on autopilot, joined him in counting, and then the world dissipated around her, and it was only them for a few seconds before she was zapped back into reality with multiple voices trying to reach her, but it was only Walter's she could fully process. She inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes as she brought her hands to his, not wanting him to let go of her face. In this moment, she needed him to be her anchor. Her rock. Her strength.

She wouldn't be able to do this assignment without him.

"Are you okay?" he eventually asked as his thumbs gently wiped away the tears under her eyes.

She slowly nodded. "I think…. I will be…. I have to be."

"No one is forcing you to do this mission, Paige," he said softly. "You can still back out."

She shook her head. "I've got to do this, Walter. I was against it earlier because I was scared of something going wrong and possibly never seeing my son again… never seeing you…," she paused and bit her lip before adding, "or the team again…, but…," she splayed his hands apart with hers and curled her fingers over the spaces between his knuckles before briefly bringing his palms to her lips and kissing them lightly. "But, as I said to Agent Carver, those woman are currently living my nightmares, and I can't sit idly by knowing I could have helped them. And yes," she inhaled deeply as she pulled his palms from her face and held them to her heart, "it _could_ end badly for me, but at least I would have tried."

"Paige…"

"Remember the case when you, Happy, Toby and Cabe went to Antarctica a few months ago?"

He nodded quietly.

"Ralph was really touched by Captain Decker's bravery, and though all odds were against the man, he believed in my son, and Ralph believed in Scorpion and everything Scorpion stood for. He said, "Scorpion never fails," with so much conviction, and knowing how much faith my baby boy puts in this team… i-in you… and in me, I can't let him down, and I can't let those women down either." She inhaled a deep breath and brought his left palm to her lips before whispering, "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do."

"If it's something you feel so strongly about, then we will back you up 100% of the way," Walter smiled. "But, just know, if you change your mind, we'll support your decision to do so, too."

"Thank you." She mumbled against his fingertips.

"But, like you, I don't like it either." Walter muttered. "I feel like Agent Carver hasn't told us everything."

"I feel like that too, but, for now, we have to trust her."

He sighed. "I hate it when you're right."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "You hate it when _anybody_ is right other than yourself."

Walter feigned annoyance. "And _she's_ back."

"Thank you, Walter," Paige whispered to him as she quickly leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to the man's cheek. As she lightly pushed away from him and turned towards the team, Toby, Sly, Happy and Cabe pretended _not_ to have witnessed such a seemingly intimate exchange between the _not_ -couple, as Katherine approached the mother and gently touched her shoulder.

"I'll brief you on the specifics of the case in a few hours. In the meantime, do whatever you need to do in order to prepare for the mission. Okay?"

"Okay," Paige closed her eyes and nodded.

"Hey, forget the CIA," the deputy director said. "If things go awry, Homeland will be there to pick up the CIA's slack. I'll assign a few extra agents to the case to go undercover as extra security detail for the after party."

"The CIA could deny your request, though!" Sylvester exclaimed loudly.

To everyone's surprise, a wide smirk stretched across Katherine's lips. "What the CIA doesn't know, won't hurt them."

"Oh, believe me," Walter chortled as Katherine made her way to the door, "They'll find out."

The deputy director's eyebrows lifted innocently, and as she stepped outside, she blinked. "Find what out?"

Toby smirked as the woman left the building and chuckled. "Oh, she's _good_." He then turned to Paige and took off his hat. "I'm sorry I was such a hard ass earlier. If I knew the whole story before I started being a pain in the tuckus towards you, I would have _never_ tried to pressure you into this mission. Everything I said to you was unfair and uncalled for."

"Thank you, Toby." Paige gave the shrink a soft smile. "Your apology means a lot."

"Yeah," Happy chimed in. "I'm sorry too. While I wasn't as terrible as Toby, I certainly didn't take your side like I should have…, and, while we're sort of on topic, I'm sorry for not clocking that woman for insulting you. She pissed me off when she called you a nobody. It doesn't matter what she said to try to save her ass, she totally dissed you, and that's not cool."

"Thanks… I think." Paige replied, issuing Happy the same smile she had given Toby. "Anyway," she headed for her desk and grabbed her purse, "Looks like I need to go shopping for a new swimsuit." She turned towards Walter and bit her lip. "Coming?"

Walter blinked and swallowed the lump in his throat as he idiotically pointed to himself and muttered, "Me? You want _me_ to go?"

"I need someone to drive me," she nervously laughed. "My legs feel like spaghetti, and if I drive myself, I'll never leave the garage."

Walter flexed his fingers and glanced at Toby who was wiggling his eyebrows and giving him two thumbs up. He inhaled a deep breath and forgot to release it as he squeaked out an "O-okay" and grabbed his keys.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

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 **WriterFreak001:**

Wow… didn't expect the first chapter to be so long.

I hope I represented Paige properly. I didn't want her to do this assignment against her will so I tried to find a way for her to choose to participate on her own volition, validated by her own reasons and not because she's "forced" to do it by the CIA. I want this case to give Paige a voice in the mission, and in general, because we don't see much of her POV on the show. The purpose of this case is designed to show how important Paige is to the members of Scorpion, and while this will be a Waige fic, it will also showcase Paige as an independent person, proving that she is just as important as the rest of the team.

It really bugged me that she considered herself as expendable on 2x16 "Fractured," when she volunteered to save that man in the car so I wanted to use this dream I had as a way to help Paige realize that she IS NOT expendable. That she is just as important as anybody else on the team. So, yes, while this is a Waige fic and a family fic, it is also majorly a Paige fic.

This fic was originally planned to be humorous (and not originally contain sex trafficking in the case), but my fingers had a different plan, and I just couldn't stop typing.

Please let me know what you think of the first chapter and whether or not I should continue. I hope I have not offended anyone as that was not my intent.


	2. Confidence

**WriterFreak001:**

I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY! I did not expect it would take this long to write this chapter! Work kept getting in the way, and then I would change parts of the chapter because I wasn't satisfied with them. BUT HERE IS THE FINAL VERSION! I await judgement as you read it.

* * *

 **WARNING:**

This story will handle sensitive material involving sex trafficking. There will be some angst during the actual case itself, but for the most part, the events leading up to the assignment will be somewhat humorous. This story will be mainly Paige's point of view, and if you find _anything_ inaccurate with what I am writing in this story, PLEASE tell me.

You are under no obligation to read this story at all, and I won't be upset if you stop, but **please no flames**. If something upsets you, contact me via PM and let me know so I can fix whatever inaccuracies I may accidentally include.

* * *

 **Title** | Model Behavior

 **Fandom** | _Scorpion_ (CBS)

 **Description** | "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." This self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. She will be challenged in unexpected ways and may have to depend on her own strength to save not only her life, but also her freedom as she tries to save others in the process.

 **Rating** | This fanfiction will be rated T.

 **POV** | Limited Third Person

 **Disclaimer** | While CBS owns _**Scorpion**_ , I am the owner of this masterpiece.

 **Claimer** | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something _should_ be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 2:**

 **Confidence**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

"I applaud you for your bravery and your conviction, Paige, but," Walter eventually spoke as he quickly glanced over at the woman sitting next to him in the car and gave her a knowing smile before he returned his attention to the road, "like I said earlier, you _don't_ have to do this."

"Walter," Paige casually placed her hand on top of his and squeezed his palm, "I already told you… It's something I have to do… not for myself, but for my son and for those women. As much as I don't want to do it… I need to. I have to…. Have faith in me, okay?"

"Oh, I have abundant faith in you, Paige," Walter replied without taking his eyes away from the road. "But this is…"

"Crazy?" Paige lightly smiled, and he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Crazy."

"You're right, Walter." Paige pushed her hair back and glanced out the side window. "It _is_ crazy. _Mega_ crazy. But what can I do? The CIA is counting on me to aid in their mission, and if I don't, they could very well follow through with their threat towards Scorpion. I can't have that _and_ these women's lives on my conscience."

"I know I can't persuade you once your mind is made, but…," Walter slowed the car to a stop and turned on its right blinker before looking at her sympathetically, "I'm not letting you go in alone."

"I have to, Walter." Paige squeezed his hand. "You and everyone else are not to involve yourselves until the after party. Your dossiers strictly say not to arrive until the competition is over."

"I don't care," Walter said as he applied pressure to the accelerator and turned right. "I'll find a way to persuade Agent Carver to let me assist you. I know I can't… model on stage with you, but you _need_ some sort of backup. I could be your manager or something…. I, uh," he paused as he pulled into a spot at the parking garage of the mall and then angled himself towards her, wanting her to know how serious he was about protecting her, "I would feel much more at ease knowing I'd be there to keep you safe."

Paige's heart fluttered, and her skin flushed a deep pink as a warm smile colored her lips. "Thank you, Walter."

"I meant it, Paige." He added softly as she slowly laced her fingers with his and bought his palm to her lips. "I meant all of it."

"I know," she whispered as she leaned over the console and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek for the second time that day before unbuckling her seatbelt, grabbing her purse and pushing herself out of her Chevy Malibu. Walter sat in the car for a few extra seconds before shaking himself out of his daze, and when he realized Paige was waiting for him in the parking garage, he killed the engine and climbed out of the vehicle before meeting up with her. She smiled at him and eagerly linked her arm around his elbow as he locked the car and shoved the keys into his pocket. "Let's go."

"Okay."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

"I understand why you needed someone to drive, but… why me exactly? Happy could have easily gone with you to help you find a suitable swimsuit."

Paige peered over the fitting room door and cocked a brow. "Do you really think Happy would have been more helpful?"

"Probably not," Walter answered as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "But… I'm hardly shopping material."

Paige laughed and rolled her eyes. "Walter, I didn't ask you to come to give me fashion advice or be my driver."

Walter blinked and then eventually asked, "Then why _am_ I here?"

"Because…," her confidence suddenly wavered, "Well," she blushed furiously, "I sort of want _you_ t-to be the first to see me wearing whatever I'll be wearing tonight before I have to show off 90% of my bod to random strangers." Walter gulped, and she bit her lip before adding, "Before I go out there tonight, I want to know… I want to feel visually appreciated because that's the only way I'd feel comfortable catwalking in front of people I don't know. If I know you… if I know that you approve of what I wear, then I'll feel better about what I have to do tonight."

"Paige," Walter, though strangely honored by her confession, rose to his feet and slowly approached her. "I'm flattered, really, but," he let out a nervous laugh, "you could be strutting in sweats tonight, and I'd still… uh… I'd still find you aesthetically attractive."

She flushed and bit her lip. "Thanks Walter."

"Tonight," he stopped short of her fitting room door and gently smiled. "My opinion of whatever you wear shouldn't matter. I'm not the one wearing the bikini in front of hundreds of people, Paige. You are. Wear what's comfortable to you. Your comfort and your opinion of yourself are the only things that matter in this assignment. Nothing else."

Paige inhaled a deep, shaky breath and nodded. "You're right. If I'm going to have to strut my stuff tonight, as Happy had described it, then I need to be comfortable in _what_ I strut."

"Exactly," Walter said proudly as he crossed his arms and took a few steps backwards to give Paige a little more space.

Paige backed away from the door and slid on a deep red hipster bottom over her panties before tying the matching triangle top over her breasts. She turned towards the mirror and examined herself. It was certainly a cute bikini outfit, but… would _cute_ be enough to capture the scouts' attention? Probably not. Unsure of whether or not to try on something else, Paige peered over her fitting room door and glanced at Walter. "I'm ready to show you my first option."

Walter pursed his lips and flexed his fingers as she slowly opened the door. He froze when he saw her and gulped. Never before had he ever seen so much skin on Paige Dineen, and the mere thought of strangers ogling over her tonight like a possession was starting to stress him out. Paige didn't deserve for _any_ man to look at her like some sort of booby prize. (If he could, he was going to try and convince her against the mission one more time.)

"Well?" Paige lifted both brows as she cocked her head and approached the genius. "What do you think?"

"Wow," was all he could say as he tried his damned hardest to keep his eyes from wandering below her face. He gulped and cleared his throat before adding, "Th-that would definitely work."

"You think it's sexy enough even though it's much more modest than the flimsy thing CIA sent to me?"

"Yes!" Walter exclaimed a little too loudly, making Paige's cheeks burn brightly. As she turned around and showed him her ass, Walter shifted uncomfortably in his chair and crossed his legs to hide his arousal. "Not too revealing, is it?"

He blinked at her. "Is that… Is that a trick question?"

Paige laughed and faced forward again as she looked at her toes. "Maybe I _should_ have brought Happy."

"T-try on the other option… maybe it'll have a different effect." Walter suggested, hoping his current predicament would pass once she was behind the door again.

"Perhaps you're right," she nodded in agreement and stepped back into the dressing room. She slipped out of the red bikini and tried on the white one she had picked up. Unlike the first option, the top was a bandeau, and it gave her breasts more coverage than the triangle design. The bikini bottoms had side ties and was less modest than the hipsters she had first tried on. Once both pieces of the bikini were secured to her body, she unlocked the door and stepped out once again as her eyes found Walter's. "And this is the second selection…. Slightly less modest than the first one though."

Walter gulped as his eyes scanned over her creamy skin and clenched his fingers in order to keep himself from running his hands all over her body. God, did he want to touch her. "H-How do you feel in it?"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

She smiled. "I feel sexy."

"Is it… something you're comfortable wearing in front of strangers?" Walter angled his crotch away from Paige's line of sight and kept his legs tightly crossed.

She glanced down at the white bikini and shrugged. "Though there's slightly more coverage up here," she gestured towards her boobs, "there's less below in the back," she quietly added as she slowly turned for Walter.

Walter swallowed hard as he forced a smile and tried to keep himself – as much as he can – calm and collected. "Compared to the first option, though," he quietly coughed, "How… how do you like it?"

"I don't know…," she lightly scratched her arm and bit her lip, "I felt a little timid, I guess, in the first one, but this one makes me feel… I don't know… confident-ish? It's weird since it's a little showier than the first one, but… it's comfortable. And that's what's important, right? Wearing something that makes me feel comfortable and confident?"

"That's the idea," Walter replied as she approached him slowly. "Which one would you be more likely to wear at a beach? That's a public venue so if you could wear one of those swimsuits openly at a beach, then I'd say it's a winner."

Paige laughed. "I guess I could wear both to the beach. They each have their merits."

"Hmmm…," Walter pursed his lips together, closed his eyes and took a second to collect his thoughts. "What if…," he fluttered his eyes open and found her bellybutton staring straight at him. Once again, he shifted in his seat and forced himself to meet Paige's hazel irises before continuing his thought. "This might sound strange, but…," he licked his lip, "is there a way to practice catwalking in it?"

"Maybe at the garage," Paige laughed as she flipped her hair. "I think it would be a little weird if I tried catwalking in the store." She then took a step back and turned for him again, "So… You think I should buy both of them, then?"

"That would be a good idea." Walter nodded in agreement, hoping her decision meant they were almost done. The sooner he could find a bathroom to take care of his… problem…, the better. "Do you have any others to try on?"

"Nope." she shook her head.

"Well, I'm sure," Walter flexed his fingers and spoke quickly as though to conclude Paige's shopping extravaganza, "I'm sure whatever you decide to wear will work, Paige. With or without the bikini, you're a very beautiful woman."

Paige snapped her attention to Walter and lifted her eyebrows as her entire body flushed from his comment. Walter, on the other hand, froze the moment the words flew out of his mouth.

"That…," his voice squeaked, "That didn't come out right…."

She shook her head and suppressed a smirk. "No. It didn't."

"I…," Walter's ears suddenly prickled with heat, "I wasn't referring to you being naked…."

"I know, Walter," Paige punctuated as she combed her fingers through her hair and repressed the need to fan herself as she slowly backed into the fitting room and closed the door.

"Though," she heard Walter mumble to himself, "You being naked, I'm certain, is incredibly breathtaking." He froze instantly as her wide eyes landed on his again.

Oh, shit.

Paige blushed harder. She should have just ignored Walter's quiet slipup, but her response was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "You've… you've seen me naked?"

Walter's eyes, if possible, widened more, and he immediately shook his head violently. "NO! No. Of course not." He ran his hand through his curls and rose to his feet before slowly approaching her.

Paige gulped and fluttered her lashes as she tried to read his flustered expression. "Then why would you say such a thing?"

"You… you weren't supposed to hear that."

"But I did."

"Th-That… statement was referring to m-my fanta-," he coughed, "m-my imagination."

She blinked wildly and squeaked way too loudly. "Y-you're imagination? Y-You fantasize me naked?"

The color in Walter's face blanched, and he immediately wanted to run as far away from Paige as possible. "N-not all the time," was the only thing his dry voice could spit out before he turned towards the front of the store and scratched his ear. "I think," he cleared his throat to drown out any response Paige could have made, "I think I'm going to go grab some coffee…. C-Call me when you're ready to leave for the garage."

And before Paige had the time to say something, Walter swiftly bolted out of the store, leaving her almost too shocked to function on her own.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

It had been a long, awkward drive back to the garage after Paige had visited one other store in the mall, and though it had almost been an hour since Walter's slipup, neither genius nor liaison said a single word to one another. While Paige was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Walter, of all people, sometimes had sexual fantasies of her, the very genius, who was still mortified from his accidental admission, was too afraid to speak. With his luck, or lack thereof, he would say something _else_ entirely more embarrassing.

But, minutes after Walter parked Paige's car, the woman knew they had to talk about it, and the sooner, the better. "I, uh," Paige bit her lip and angled herself towards Walter, "I have a confession to make."

Walter's eyes flickered towards hers, but he stayed silent.

She curled her hair behind her ear and flushed deeply. "You're not the only one who has… fantasies about… us… together…." Walter's ears burned from Paige's confession, and she surprised him by placing her hand over his. "I was…, as you could guess, not expecting to learn about… you know… so obviously I was shocked, to say the least, but I can't be mad at you…."

Walter audibly gulped but still didn't trust himself to say anything.

"To be honest," Paige made a strange giggle, unsure of where she was taking this conversation, "I think about _us_ a lot. Being together, I mean. In… uh… In particular positions. SITUATIONS!"

Walter swallowed the lump in his throat as his eyes traveled to their conjoined hands, and he sheepishly asked, "Does it, um… Does it ever bother you when you, uh, when you realize whatever you're _thinking about_ isn't real?"

Paige shrugged slightly. "Sometimes." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and added as an afterthought, "Other times, I'm somewhat glad we're only friends because, as only friends, our relationship doesn't complicate things for the team… or for Ralph."

"And yet…."

"And yet," Paige brought Walter's palm to her lips and tenderly kissed it, " _not_ being in a relationship complicates things for _us._ Mentally, at least. And probably emotionally and sexually, too. Well," she bit her lip and sadly smiled, "for me… that's how it is."

"If we could, um," Walter visibly scratched his temple, "if… if there was a way to… make this… us… you and me… work, w-would you be willing to try?"

"Of course I would," Paige replied without hesitation. "You know I would in a heartbeat."

"It's a… it's a big risk, though." Walter quietly said as she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it is, but," she slowly laced her fingers with his, "everything carries risk, Walter. What I'm doing tonight carries a lot of risk, but if there's a chance I can save those women's lives, then the risks, whatever they could be, should be worth it." She paused and moved a little closer to him. "I-If there's even a chance that _we_ could be great… _amazing_ , even, then don't you think we owe it to ourselves to embrace those risks and give _us_ a try?"

Walter was silent for several seconds, and Paige was just about to give up on the conversation when he finally spoke. "You know," he pressed his lips together and unbuckled his seatbelt, "you _could_ be right. We _could_ be great, but there's also a chance things could end badly for us, too."

"There is," Paige softly whispered and smiled sadly, "but we won't know that unless we give us a chance." She paused and squeezed his hand gently. "The last time we had this conversation, we agreed not to fraternize for the sake of the team… and for Ralph. Scorpion was different then… _We_ were different then, but Scorpion has evolved into so much more now. Sylvester is your brother… Happy and Toby are dating… Maybe it's time for us to evolve too…"

Walter slowly smiled. "Leon Megginson once said it's not the strongest of the species that survives… nor the most intelligent, but the one that is most adaptable to change." He flickered his eyes to their entwined fingers and angled himself more towards Paige until his knees were touching hers. After he took her other palm in his free one, he hovered their conjoined hands over his lap and gazed deeply into her hazel irises. "Maybe you're right…. Maybe _Megginson_ 's right. Maybe… Maybe it _is_ time for us to evolve."

Paige grinned ear to ear and, without warning, threw her arms around the genius's neck before pressing a hard kiss to his cheek. When her lips left his skin with a popping sound, Paige bit her lip and pressed her forehead against his as her eyes slowly closed. A tingly sensation fluttered in her stomach as the genius firmly wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her closer to him. She gripped his cheeks and lovingly kissed his brow before dropping her head to his shoulder to kiss his neck. "I would totally kiss you on the mouth right now, Walter, but," she giggled as she nuzzled her nose against his warm skin, "if I did, I'd never want to stop."

Walter kissed her hair and nodded before muttering, "Then we'll save it for when the case is over."

"I can't wait."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

As soon as the super genius and the liaison entered the garage, Paige hugged her bags to her chest and swiftly walked up to the loft as Walter stayed behind. Much to Walter's disappointment, Paige felt it was best if she went to the loft to practice catwalking in her swimsuits alone. She needed to make sure she was as confident as she could be, and if Walter had followed her, she wasn't sure she could be entirely focused on the mission. Those women were depending on her, and she needed to make every minute she had left to count. If she needed Walter, she would call for him, but she had to practice on her own.

Paige stepped inside Walter's bedroom and walked towards his bed before stripping off her clothes and slipping into the red bikini. She strode over to the full-body mirror hidden in the corner of the genius's room and gave herself a onceover. She was sure the members of the audience would much prefer more cleavage and more ass, but neither swimsuit gave her both options. While the red one revealed more of her boobs, the white one's bottoms showed more skin than its complementing bandeau.

Paige sighed. How the hell was she supposed to know which one she should wear?!

"Hey, Paige?" Walter's voice sounded from around the corner and caused the woman to jump out of her skin.

"Jesus, Walter!" Paige grabbed her pounding heart and spun around to find him leaning against the bookshelves with his hand covering his eyes. She instantly forgot why she was yelling his name in the first place and giggled at how silly he looked. "You don't have to cover your eyes, you know. You've already seen me in these bathing suits, and, as I recall, you've imagined _seeing_ me in much less."

"I was just…," he cleared his throat and lowered his palm, "I wasn't sure if you were decent…"

Paige forced a chuckle as she walked up to him. "This is _hardly_ what I call decent."

" _A-anyway_ ," Walter immediately expelled all current, inappropriate thoughts that were brewing in his mind and coughed loudly, "I just wanted you to know that I plan on picking up Ralph from school so you can focus on prepping for tonight."

"Oh my God, thank you," Paige raked her fingers through her hair, "I would have completely forgotten."

"Don't worry about it," Walter said quietly. "You have other things to worry about right now."

"You're right," she nodded with a sigh. "You're absolutely right."

"Which is why I ordered the team _not_ to disturb you." Walter smiled proudly as the woman's lips curved to her ears. "Anything they need to say can wait until after I come back with Ralph."

"Thank you, Walter." Paige muttered as she gently wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a loose embrace. "You're so thoughtful." Walter hesitated for a few seconds and hovered his palms in front of the middle of her back before finding the courage to touch her bare skin and return her hug. Paige melted into his arms, and she breathed in his sexy, metallic scent as he dropped a light kiss to the top of her head. "I don't know what Ralph and I would do without you."

Walter automatically held her tighter to him and pressed another soft kiss into her hair before gently pulling back to look into her beautiful eyes. Paige bit her bottom lip and smiled bashfully as he slid his hands from her back to her shoulders. "I… I should get going."

"Then go," she whispered. "Don't keep my son waiting."

"I won't," he shook his head and carefully stepped backwards. He accidentally bumped into the bookcase and knocked over a few of his favorite textbooks, causing the woman to laugh. "I'll, uh," he nervously laughed, "I'll clean those up later."

"You do that," Paige rolled her eyes and shook her head as she laughed.

"Oh!" Walter's sudden exclaim caught her attention as he took one step closer to her, "I almost forgot. I called Ralph's babysitter for you; she'll be watching him here during our case tonight. She'll show up around 4:30 PM, fifteen minutes before we have to leave for the arena."

"Thanks," Paige smiled appreciatively. "You're really on a roll today."

"I, uh, I just want to make things easier for you," Walter scratched the side of his face and grinned.

"If you keep it up," Paige smirked as she strung her arms around his neck and leaned into him, "I just might have to reward you."

Walter gulped. "W-well," his voice cracked, "There's always time for t-that _after_ the case."

Paige cocked an eyebrow and leaned away from him. "Just _what_ exactly did you think I was going to reward you with?"

Walter swallowed thickly and inwardly kicked himself for his stupid fantasies. Before he gave himself a chance to answer Paige's question, he glanced at his watch and wormed his way out of her arms. "Well, what do you know…? It's time to pick up Ralph."

Paige rolled her eyes again as he stepped backwards, knocking even more books onto the floor. He fumbled trying to pick them up, but they just kept falling back onto the floor. "Walter," Paige laughed as she grabbed his arm and pulled him back to his feet, "Don't worry about the mess. Just go pick up my son from school."

"Right," Walter nodded. "Ralph. School. Pick him up."

"Yes, Cookie Monster." Paige giggled, earning a confused glare from Walter. She lightly pushed him towards the door of the loft and exclaimed with a laugh, "Just go already!" And when he was finally descending the stairs, Paige shook her head and headed back to the mirror to scrutinize herself a little bit more.

Before practicing the struts, she slipped into the other swimsuit and, once again, observed herself in the mirror. Though cute and also sexy, she was afraid the top piece wasn't showing enough. Though she wanted to be as modest as possible, she still had to wear something sexy enough to capture the eyes of the scouts. The bandeau might not work.

The only way she was going to know which bikini to wear was to catwalk in them and see which one feels the sexiest. Paige walked to one end of Walter's bedroom and, for once in her life, she was actually grateful for the catwalking lessons her mother had forced her into taking back in high school. Who knew those lessons would have actually become handy in her line of work? She focused on the leafy plant along the big windows beyond the couches of the loft and strutted forward, and when she ran out of walkway, she stopped, elegantly rested her hand on her hip and leaned to the right for a few seconds before pivoting around to finish her stride.

"That pick won't due," Happy suddenly said, forcing the woman to stop dead in her tracks and turn to her left. Happy was walking towards her with her arms folded against her chest, wearing her usual blank expression. "The top piece doesn't provide much support for your boobs, making your catwalk kinda floppy."

"And what would _you_ know about bikinis, Happy?" Paige pursed her lips and cocked a brow, wondering why the mechanic would even care to comment. "And didn't Walter tell you not to bother me?"

"He did," she shrugged. "But I figured you could use some advice. And, since I'm not Toby, you'd have no reason to punch me."

"And again, I ask," Paige folded her arms in front of her, "What would you know about bikinis?"

"Nothing really, but," Happy shrugged again and shoved her hands into her pockets, "But I do know a thing or two about model competitions." When Paige didn't say anything, Happy continued. "If you tell anybody this, you're dead." She waited for a beat and then added, "When I was in junior high, my foster mother, at the time, forced me into this pageant program, and if it wasn't for the roof I had over my head, I would have punched that woman in the face and made a run for it. I had to take all of these dumb lessons, and though I never really participated, having perfect memory allowed me to remember the details and the shoulds and should nots of the pageant world. Ergo, your floppy breasts."

"Excuse me," Paige frowned, "But my breasts do _not_ flop."

Happy, without a word, held up her phone and presented a recording. "You were saying?"

Paige blushed deeply and blinked at the mechanic. "Why the hell were you recording me?"

"Maybe for blackmail purposes," she replied stoically. "Or, maybe to help you with your technique. Perhaps both, depending on how I feel later."

"Fine, if you're such an expert," Paige rubbed her temples, "What do you suggest?"

"Wear something with more support," Happy replied quickly. "Did you buy anything else?"

"One other bikini."

"Try your promenade in that one."

Paige sighed and turned for Walter's bed, not really in the mood for arguing. She fished for the swimsuit inside the bag and walked into the bathroom to change. Once she was suited up in the red bikini again, she strolled over to the far end of Walter's bedroom and started her strut once again.

"Be more confident, Dineen." Happy barked from the end of the makeshift walkway. "Be proud in what you're presenting. Your boobs and your ass are your treasures, and you want the world to know it. So… let them _know_ it."

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one with the bikini!" Paige retorted as she maintained her posture.

"You're right. I'm not. You are. If you want to succeed in this mission, you need to be a badass, and in order to be a badass, you gotta show your badassery. You gotta be confident in what you wear just as you were confident in what you were saying to that no good CIA agent." Happy pursed her lips and sighed as Paige stopped walking. "Look, I know I said some harsh things to you this morning, and I already apologized for that, but… you decided to do this case, and now that you're committed, you to _commit_. In truth, I came up here because I know how proud you are about your modesty and your dignity, and you can still own up to those things and succeed in this mission. You just need to suck up your damn insecurities and _know_ what you're owning and presenting. If you're confident in what you're wearing, then you can win heart eyes from the audience by wearing the most gaudy, full-coverage two-piece you own."

Paige had never heard Happy speak so many words at once to her, but the mechanic was… oddly… correct. "Thanks, Happy."

"Sure," Happy shrugged, but, to Paige's surprise, gave her a smile.

"I think I've been looking at this competition the wrong way." Paige replied as she ran her hands through her hair. "I think I have the perfect bikini outfit to wear."

"I thought you said you only bought two swimsuits." Happy lifted an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I did. I have another at home in my closet. I was against wearing it, at first, because I felt like I had to be flashy in order to succeed in this mission, but I really don't. I can wear what's _me_ , what I feel good in, and still rock the competition… _not_ that winning is the goal or anything…."

Happy acknowledged her response and pointed towards the door. "You said it was at home?"

"Yup."

"Okay." Happy nodded. "I'll drive, then."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

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 **WriterFreak001:**

I was going to have a different scenario happen in this chapter, but I think I like the Happy and Paige scene much better. :) Thoughts?

PS. I know most model events showcase certain lines of design artists, but there _is_ a reason why Paige didn't _have_ to wear the bikini the CIA gave to her, but it won't be revealed until later in the story.


	3. Cyclone

**WriterFreak001:**

Thank you to those who review! Much appreciated. (I will speak more about reviewing after the chapter.) PS. This chapter flashes forward a bit. Heh…

* * *

 **WARNING:**

This story will handle sensitive material involving sex trafficking. There will be some angst during the actual case itself, but for the most part, the events leading up to the assignment will be somewhat humorous. This story will be mainly Paige's point of view, and if you find _anything_ inaccurate with what I am writing in this story, PLEASE tell me.

You are under no obligation to read this story at all, and I won't be upset if you stop, but **please no flames**. If something upsets you, contact me via PM and let me know so I can fix whatever inaccuracies I may accidentally include.

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 **Title** | Model Behavior

 **Fandom** | _Scorpion_ (CBS)

 **Description** | "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." This self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. She will be challenged in unexpected ways and may have to depend on her own strength to save not only her life, but also her freedom as she tries to save others in the process.

 **Rating** | This fanfiction will be rated T.

 **POV** | Limited Third Person

 **Disclaimer** | While CBS owns _**Scorpion**_ , I am the owner of this masterpiece.

 **Claimer** | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something _should_ be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 3:**

 **Cyclone  
**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

Paige literally thought she was going to die as she heard the crowd roar when the woman, eleven models ahead of her, slipped through the curtains to reveal her sexy bod to a bunch of flashing photographer lights, buzzing reporters and whistling men. Whatever confidence she had mustered throughout the day almost immediately wavered at the thought of strutting any part of her body in front of hundreds. "I don't think I can do this," Paige mumbled quietly as she raked her fingers through her tousled hair.

"You have to," Agent Carver's voice hissed into her ear. "It's too late to back out."

' _You hardly gave me a choice!'_ "I know, but… I don't like this at all," Paige grumbled. "I'm not trained for this kind of thing."

As the brunette with silver G-string bikini swayed her way through the curtain, the next woman, a blonde wearing a sheer beige strapless bikini ensemble, confidently waltzed on stage, and the cheering buzzed louder. Paige pursed her lips and swallowed the wave of nausea washing over her. This was… too insane.

"You need to sell it out there; otherwise, you'll never advance to the next round," The agent whispered harshly. "You _need_ to advance to the finals if you wish to attract the scouts; otherwise, we may never find those women."

Paige swallowed thickly and heaved a loud sigh. She hated this. She absolutely hated this. She craned her neck backwards in response to a soft tap to her shoulder and smiled softly. _Walter_. He pressed a finger to his lips and then grabbed her hand before quietly leading her to the backstage hallway. He immediately muted his earpiece, and she did the same before he started speaking.

"I don't want Agent Carver to know I'm back h—," Walter's back smacked against the wall as Paige threw her arms around his neck and collided into him. He automatically wrapped and arm around her as he held himself steady before latching his fingers together just above the small of her back. He flushed but immediately grew concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she whispered as she closed her eyes and leaned into him, "I just… I'm glad to see you."

A small smile found its way to the man's lips as he instinctively tightened his arms around her. "I told you I wasn't going to let you do this alone," he mumbled against her hair. "While you're out there, I'll be monitoring the crowd backstage. Happy is working the lighting for the show, and Toby is among the crowd, profiling the audience closely. Cabe is posing as a security guard."

Paige's eyes popped open, and she slightly leaned away from him. "But… those are not the roles the CIA assigned to you."

"We know," Walter smirked as he tucked a loose curl behind Paige's ear. "Cabe spoke with the deputy director while we were looking for your bikini. She didn't feel comfortable with how Agent Carver was handling the assignment so since the CIA didn't need us around until the competition's after party, Deputy Director Cooper gave us an extra set of assignments under Homeland's directive. Agent Carver doesn't know about our involvement, and until we figure out what she's hiding, we're going to keep her in the dark."

A smile colored Paige's lips as she lowered her head and pressed her temple against Walter's chest. "Thank you," she mumbled softly and held him closer. "I really appreciate it."

Walter gently kissed her hair and chuckled. "We're a cyclone, remember? If something happens, we all dive in."

Paige's nose burned as her eyes brimmed with tears, but as she sniffed and dabbed her eyes, Walter frowned. "Was… this a bad idea?"

"No," Paige shook her head and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek as a small giggle passed her lips. "These are happy tears, Walter." She sweetly caressed his face with her fingertips and smiled, "It truly means a lot. Thank you."

"Oh," he blinked as she giggled again. "In that case," he found her eyes, "you're welcome."

Paige grinned ear to ear and lightly pushed away from him. "I should get back…."

"Okay, but first," Walter pursed his lips as he gave her a quick onceover, "I just wanted to, uh, to tell you, um, I…," he scratched his neck, "I like what you chose to w-wear tonight. It…," he slowly scanned her body, "It suits you well."

"Aww, thank you, Walter." Paige's eyes gleamed.

"That, uh, that light blue is… is pretty on you." Walter muttered as he mindlessly traced his finger along her bare shoulder.

Paige smirked at the way her potential boyfriend continuously flickered his gaze between her eyes, her cleavage and her bare midriff. How he admired her beauty was always empowering, but watching him unable to keep his eyes trained on hers strangely empowered her more. "I knew you'd like it."

His eyes, after trailing to her navel, quickly snapped to hers. "Oh?"

She laughed and leaned towards him, gliding her palms along the buttons of his shirt. "It's the same color as most of your button-ups."

"I've," he nervously chuckled, "I've noticed."

"And you're _still_ noticing," she whispered as she watched his eyes lower to her cleavage again. "My eyes are up here," she giggled, and he immediately (and guiltily) found her gaze. "Though it's clear that _you_ like the bikini ensemble, do you think it… reveals enough?"

Walter nodded swiftly, and she flushed timidly. "Why the change, though?"

Paige shrugged. "Happy suggested I wear something comfortable, and more _me_. If I want to, quote unquote, sell my delivery to the audience and the scouts I'm supposed to attract, then I need to _be_ me instead of personifying someone I'm not. Hence wearing a bikini from my closet instead of one of the ones I bought."

"That's… good advice," Walter replied as he willed himself not to look down again. "It looks oddly similar to that white one you tried on, though."

"The top does, yes," Paige gestured to the light blue heart-shaped bandeau wrapped around her breasts, "but the bottom piece," she touched the low-rise, tiny skirt tightly secured around the bikini bottoms, "is less revealing." She bit her lip gently. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I just hope wearing this will be enough to capture the scouts' attention; if I'm the only saving grace those captured women have, then… somehow… this mission has to be successful – no matter how much I hate it."

"Paige," Walter's hands found hers, and he gently squeezed them as he tugged her close to him. "This is your call; if you don't want to do this… then we can leave now. I can tell everyone to abort as quickly as possible, and we won't even blink an eye as we leave. Homeland can fight the CIA if they try to charge us; they shouldn't have recruited an untrained contractor in the first place. Don't feel like you have to do this to salvage Scorpion's reputation; believe me, we've had enough cases that have scorched Scorpion's name in multiple ways; this wouldn't be the first." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "All of this… everything the CIA is doing for this case… is based on pure speculation. Nothing factual warrants our expertise so, if you want to leave… if you want an out… no one in Scorpion will hold it against you."

Paige hugged the man holding her close and pressed her cheek against his collarbone. "Thank you, Walter, but… as I said twice before… I have to do this. If… if the speculation turns out to be true, and I knew about it but did nothing, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night." She paused and reached up to caress his cheek. "Scorpion saves lives, remember?"

He slowly nodded, and she smiled sadly. "Many times, you have willingly risked your life to save others because… that's who you are. You're a selfless man, Walter, and you're amazing at everything you do no matter how many times you put your life on the line to save people." She bit her lip and looked down as she linked her fingers with his again. "A few months ago, I asked you to be selfish and think about yourself instead of other people, but… that wasn't a fair request." She paused and blinked back her tears as she felt the intensity of his gaze when she found his deep brown eyes staring at her intently. "We work for a company who… who saves lives. It's _selfish_ to act selfishly when other lives are at risk…. You're always protective of me and wanting me to do whatever I can to live for Ralph… and _be_ selfish for Ralph, but…," she smoothed her thumbs underneath his eyes and licked her lips, "Ralph believes in Scorpion and everything that it stands for, and so do I, and I know you do too. So maybe," her nose burned slightly, "maybe it's time for me to be selfless for once."

He inhaled a deep breath and frowned. "I don't like this…, but I understand your conviction."

She laughed emotionlessly. "I don't like it either, as you already know, but speculation or not, I can't let those women down…, and I don't want my son to lose faith in the team or in me for something I could have prevented if I had chosen to walk away."

Walter sighed. "Something about this case still doesn't add up, though, and I'm worried that whatever we _don't_ know will eventually come back t—"

"Bite us in the ass?" Paige guessed, and he nodded. "Yeah, I'm worried about that too. Mostly because it'll be _my_ ass that'll probably get bitten."

Walter grimaced. "I hope that's only a metaphor."

"Me too," Paige nodded with an equal amount of disgust. "Anyway," she gently pushed away from the genius and looked towards the door. "I should be heading back," Paige glanced at the small monitor mounted on the wall. "Looks like there are only three more models left until it's my turn."

"Okay…" Walter mumbled as her gold heels clicked towards the door. "Oh, wait!" He grabbed her arm as she touched the handle. She craned her neck towards him and blinked as he stepped up to her. "Good," he fumbled on his words, "G-Good luck out there."

"You don't believe in luck," she slowly smiled.

"No, but," he slid his palm to hers and squeezed it, "you do."

She grinned widely and winked. "If we weren't in the middle of a case, I would totally reward you with an open-mouth kiss right now."

Walter's ears burned as he watched her appreciably lick her lips. "J-just a-add it to the tab."

Paige laughed. "Oh, don't worry," she kissed his cheek quickly, "I will."

After she turned her comm device back on and slipped through the door, Walter did the same and smiled to himself as he followed her. While she merged back into the lineup, Walter hung back and watched her carefully. As the woman in front of her marched beyond the deep red curtains, Paige turned back and found the man's eyes intimately trained on her. She flashed him a small smile and swallowed her nerves as she returned her attention to the curtains. Through the rift in the heavy material, the model before Paige swiveled around and started her catwalk towards the back of the stage. Flashes of camera light peppered the audience, and Paige inhaled a deep breath as the brunette neared the end of her promenade.

And when the woman ripped her way through the curtains, Paige let out the breath she had been holding and feigned a smile as she reminded herself why she was even there in the first place and then prominently sashayed through the fissure in the curtains.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

" _Wow, your future wife has some moves, Walter!"_ Toby exclaimed into Walter's ear as Paige struck a pose at the end of the walkway. _"She's almost a completely different person!"_

" _Well, she is undercover, you nimrod,"_ Happy barked as Walter rolled his eyes and ignored his friends' comments.

"Focus," he mumbled quietly, not wanting to attract too much attention to himself. "Sylvester, are you seeing _anything_ on the camera feeds?"

" _Not really… Nothing looks out of the ordinary right now, but if I catch any suspicious activity,"_ the human calculator replied, _"I'll be sure to let you know."_

Walter, as much as he wanted to watch Paige's full performance, knew he couldn't get distracted. They were on a case, and innocent lives could be at stake. He strained his eyes as he forced himself to scan the audience, but it was hard to spot _anything_ with all of the camera flashes. He was about to give up and meet Paige as she approached the curtains, but he spotted four VIP box suites in the very back of the auditorium, overcasting the audience. Four well-dressed men were sipping cocktails and intently watching the competition. "Toby," Walter touched his comm device and spoke quietly. "You see those four men in the VIP box suites?"

" _Yeah, I do, actually._ " Toby mumbled with concern as Walter's eyes never left the suites.

"Sly, do you have eyes on the suites?"

" _Let me check_ ," Sylvester replied quickly and then exclaimed, " _I do! Each of them have some sort of buzzer next to them and a computer showcasing…_ ," the human calculator gulped, _"prices… They keep hitting their buzzers…."_

" _Crap!"_ Toby exclaimed.

Walter clenched his fists and flared his nostrils. "This competition isn't a hub for scouts like we originally thought," he muttered under his breath and clenched his teeth. "It's a trafficking auction."

" _If that's the case,_ " Sylvester panicked, " _We have a big problem."_

"What is it?" Walter snapped, causing a few of the women to stare at him. He backed away from them and spoke more quietly. "What just happened Sly?"

" _Paige has just been claimed by the highest bidder."_

" _I know I say this a lot, but…,"_ Happy punctuated, _"Not good."_

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **WriterFreak001:**

I don't know why, but I really enjoyed writing this chapter!

Let me know what you think! :D

(And the suspense continues!)

You can see the type of bikini I envisioned for Paige on my blog, A Beautiful Mind WF001. :) PM me if you can't find it.

* * *

 **A little note about reviewing:**

When you ask writers to update new chapters to a fanfiction story, please take the time to also review their stories when they've updated. Nothing is more discouraging than writers not receiving feedback for their stories – especially their multi-chaptered ones. If you review one chapter and beg the writer to write more, PLEASE drop a review when they update.

Also, as a Fanfiction writer for almost ten years now, just saying "please write more" or "please update" without an added response detailing thoughts about update is greatly annoying. Writers don't want to know if viewers want more updates; we want to know what you guys like…, what you don't like…, what your opinions and thoughts are…, etc. In depth reviews are the best, but even a small sentence about the update is great too!

Let your favorite writers know how much you appreciate their hard work because the FanFiction they write is a free service. All of your favorite FanFiction stories wouldn't exist without your favorite writers' hard work and dedication.

Sorry if I seem to be coming off as rude, but as Toby said, sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind, lol. ;)


	4. Veritas

**WriterFreak001:**

Again, thank you for your support so far. It truly means a lot!

* * *

 **WARNING:**

This story will handle sensitive material involving sex trafficking. There will be some angst during the actual case itself, but for the most part, the events leading up to the assignment will be somewhat humorous. This story will be mainly Paige's point of view, and if you find _anything_ inaccurate with what I am writing in this story, PLEASE tell me.

You are under no obligation to read this story at all, and I won't be upset if you stop, but **please no flames**. If something upsets you, contact me via PM and let me know so I can fix whatever inaccuracies I may accidentally include.

* * *

 **Title** | Model Behavior

 **Fandom** | _Scorpion_ (CBS)

 **Description** | "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." This self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. She will be challenged in unexpected ways and may have to depend on her own strength to save not only her life, but also her freedom as she tries to save others in the process.

 **Rating** | This fanfiction will be rated T.

 **POV** | Limited Third Person

 **Disclaimer** | While CBS owns _**Scorpion**_ , I am the owner of this masterpiece.

 **Claimer** | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something _should_ be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 4:**

 **Veritas**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

Walter grabbed Paige's arm the moment she slipped through the curtains and quietly tugged her towards the back door. Paige, a woman who has learned that Walter didn't do anything without reason, watched him as he escorted her to the hallway and waited for him to explain himself, but as they continued walking away from the entrance to the backstage, he said nothing. His only focus was getting Paige as far away from the auditorium as possible.

"Walter," Paige eventually twisted her wrist from his grip, took out her comm device and folded her arms in front of her to keep the genius from grabbing hold of her again. "Walter, what's going on?" She leaned against the wall and sucked her bottom lip under her top one as she calmly waited for him to speak.

"Paige," Walter's palms first found her cheeks and then, out of haste or desperation, they jumped to her shoulders just so he could mentally confirm she was still there with him. "We need to get you out of here."

Paige locked her jaw and sighed as the genius's eyes pierced through hers. "Walter," she reached up to cup his face, "we've already had this discussion. Multiple times. I _need_ to go through with this mission."

"No," Walter shook his head violently. "You can't. No." His hands gripped her waist and pulled her closer to him. "As your employer, I can't let you continue with this assignment."

Paige pursed her lips, fearing he was withholding information from her. "And why not?" She could literally see the sudden fear and panic in his eyes, and it worried her greatly. "Walter," she whispered as she brushed her thumbs underneath his eyes, "Tell me what's going on. _Please_."

Walter swallowed the hard lump in his throat and nodded slowly as he mindlessly leaned against her palms. He inhaled a deep breath and avoided eye contact. "This competition… it's not…," he tugged her closer, "it's not what we thought it was."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not a competition fabricated for scouting potential sex trafficking targets," Walter mumbled lowly as Paige's soft voice caused him to find her eyes again. She decided to keep her thoughts to herself and wait for Walter to continue, and eventually, he did. "This arena… this competition… it's…."

"It's what?"

"It's a sex trafficking auction."

"A w-what?"

He bit his lip and whispered, "That's not the worst part."

"I-It's not?"

"No," Walter shook his head, "It's not."

"Then w-what's the worst part," Paige's palms slid to his shoulders. When he didn't answer, she latched her fingers behind his neck and held his gaze as she asked him again. "Walter," she pinned her bottom lip with her teeth, "What's the worst part?"

Walter opened his mouth to speak, but an unwanted voice immediately cut him off and forced both the genius and the liaison to turn their attention to Agent Carver storming down the hallway in their direction. "Just what the hell are you doing out here?! You need to be backstage in order to find out if you're going to advance to the next round! You _have_ to advance to the next round." Agent Carver then looked at Walter. "And just what the hell are you doing here? You could be charged for obstructing justice!"

Walter, once again, started to speak, but Cabe, who was jogging up to them with Toby and Happy in tow, intervened. "He's with me. Homeland has their own agents here for backup under Deputy Director Cooper's orders. Since the CIA, suspiciously, couldn't provide their own backup, the deputy director thought it was imperative for Homeland to step in."

"You could all be charged with obstructing justice," Agent Carver pointed to everybody. "I specifically told you not to involve yourselves further."

"No you didn't." Toby coughed, causing everyone to look at him. "Our dossiers simply suggested we present ourselves at the after party. I read it thrice, and not once did it say we couldn't show up beforehand and support our favorite liaison."

Agent Carver rolled her eyes and snapped her attention to Paige. "You, go back inside and wait for my orders."

"No," Paige shook her head defiantly.

"Excuse me?"

"I said no," Paige crossed her arms and marched up to the female agent. "This case has everything to do with my safety and freedom. I'm not just about to walk away and hide while you push my friends away. Whatever you say to them, you say to me too." She then turned to Toby and Happy before exchanging a glances with Walter. "That goes for all of you, too. If there's something you're not telling me about this case, then tell me. I do _not_ want to be in the dark of anything."

"I've told you everything I know," Agent Carver said quickly and stoically. "You are wasting precious time."

Toby frowned. "You're lying, Agent Carver. You withheld your breath during your response, and when you withhold breath, you withhold information."

"So what are you not telling us," Walter punctuated as he stepped forward and folded his arms against his chest. "What are you withholding, Agent Carver?"

Happy and Toby copied Walter's reaction and took a step forward as well as Cabe's cell went off. The Homeland agent stepped away and placed his phone into his ear as Toby, Happy, Walter and Paige eyed Agent Carver suspiciously.

"This is _not_ the time," the woman hissed. "I need Paige to continue with her mission immediately! Every second we waste here is another second we could have used towards finding those missing women! Now that Dmitri Mikhailov has bought her, we h—"

"How the hell do you know the buyer's name?!" Toby, Happy and Walter exclaimed in unison as Paige blanched white.

"E-excuse me, _w-what_?!" She squeaked, making everyone turn their attention towards her. Her heart suddenly started pounding harder in her chest, and her throat began to close up. "W-what d-do you mean, _b-bought_?" She grabbed her at her heart as her breathing escalated. She turned to Walter. "B-bought?"

"She's in shock." Toby immediately tapped Walter on the shoulder. "You need to calm her down!" The shrink then started backing up. "Give her some room for air; it'll help."

As everyone but Walter backed away from Paige, the super genius approached her and grabbed her hands. "Hey," he spoke softly and squeezed her fingers, "You're okay. You're okay, Paige." Ignoring the stares he was receiving from everyone else, he brought her hands to his lips and lightly kissed them before cupping her face gently. "I'm going to protect you, okay? I promise," he stroked her smooth skin with his thumbs and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Nothing is going to happen to you."

Paige closed her eyes and drew a shaky breath as she nodded slowly in Walter's hands. And when her throat began to open up and her heart started hurting less, she fluttered her eyes open and found Walter staring intensely at her. After many seconds of silence, Paige found her voice again. "W-what did Agent Carver mean?"

Walter inhaled a deep breath and muttered, "We noticed something odd in the VIP boxes and had Sly hack into the video feed. There were three men watching the competition, and they were placing bids."

"B-bids?"

Walter nodded. "As I told you, the competition is a fabricated auction for sex trafficking."

"But you said there was more… Something worse."

Walter didn't answer right away, but eventually, he said, "One of the men placed a bid on you, Paige."

Paige felt her chest constricting again. "What?"

"Hey, hey," Walter caressed her cheeks, "Nothing's going to happen to you."

"How can you be so sure?" Paige slowly breathed and gazed intently into Walter's deep brown eyes. "Women are known to go missing, Walter. I signed up to find scouts. I did not sign up to be purchased by sex trafficking lord. And i-if what you're saying is _true_ , then I might not h-have a chance!"

"Paige," Walter whispered, " _Nothing_ is going to happen to you, and that is a fact."

"What if you're wrong?"

"I'm not wrong."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"Because," Walter pressed his lips against her forehead, "I'm not letting you out of my sight. Okay?"

Paige inhaled a deep breath and nodded, though she wasn't sure if he could protect her against this. "O-okay."

Walter, without another word, kissed her forehead once more before taking her hand in his and pulling her towards the group where Cabe had just finished his phone call and everyone else was giving Agent Carver distrusting stares.

"That was Katherine," Cabe quietly said to everyone before frowning at Agent Carver. "She just informed me the _real_ Agent Teresa Carter passed away ten years ago." Cabe dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cuffs as he glared at the mysterious woman. Cabe forcibly grabbed the woman's wrists and forced them behind her back, "who the hell are you?"

 **~ SCORPION ~**

After Cabe had cuffed the fake Agent Carver and pushed her to the van, they drove to the hotel suite Paige was instructed to stay at, courtesy of the "competition administration," and went straight to her room where Sylvester was waiting. Cabe instructed the woman to sit down at the round table, and once everyone circled around her, Cabe began interrogating her.

"Obviously, you're not Agent Carver." Cabe deduced as he crossed his arms and frowned at her. "So who are you and why are you illegally impersonating a CIA operative? What is your angle, exactly?"

"My real name," her accent suddenly switched from American English to French, "is Yvette Vasseur, and I am an Interpol agent from Paris, seeking to take down this sex trafficking operation once and for all."

Cabe looked at Toby, and the shrink nodded, indicating the woman wasn't lying.

"Okay, Agent Vasseur. Why did you steal the late Agent Carver's identity?"

"My branch does not know I'm here, and had I approached you with my true identity, you would have contacted my superiors, and I didn't want to risk being deported before I take those bastards down. If I posed as American, I had a better chance in succeeding with my mission."

"A mission with no directive," Toby mumbled, and for once, Happy didn't elbow him for his sarcasm.

"My personal directive is as good as any other," Yvette glared at Toby.

"And why is this mission so personal?" Cabe asked, redirecting the French woman's attention back to him.

She sighed and realized there wasn't a point in hiding her information anymore. "One of the women who disappeared during the competition was my sister." Everyone snapped their attention to Yvette as she continued. "I went to congratulate her for her performance, but as I approached her hotel room, I heard her screaming, and by the time I arrived, she was gone."

"You were the anonymous caller," Toby, being the first one to connect the dots, blinked with surprise. He definitely didn't see that one coming.

"Oui," Yvette nodded. "I called Interpol, but they didn't check the competition out for another few days, and by the time they sent in an agent, three other women went missing, and I realized I couldn't put my trust in them."

"But you became one of them." Walter furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to wrap his mind around this new information. "Why?"

"Well," Toby answered for the woman, "if she joined Interpol, she would have access to classified documents. She would be able to hear about incidences before the public, and she would have more manpower at her disposal."

"And I did," Yvette spoke with a frown, "until everyone thought I was just chasing ghosts."

"And that's why," Cabe shifted his weight, "after you heard the competition was coming to LA, you had to act on your own accord."

"Yes."

"But none of that answers the question as to how you know the name of one of the buyers." Happy crossed her arms. "Something tells me you weren't meaning to spill those beans."

"After I joined Interpol, I requested security footage from the VIP boxes, and I noticed what they were doing the moment I saw the numbers. And when I saw the video feed of the man bidding on my sister, and winning the bid, I had no doubt in my mind that he was the one who took her… or had hired someone to take her.

"Dmitri Mikhailov is his name. He has had history with Interpol in the past but seemingly dropped off the grid until my sister was taken. The other two bidders are Jacques Reynaud and Dedrick König, and between the three of them, almost fifty women have disappeared throughout Europe and Asia _before_ they fabricated this competition. Now, the number is nearly 65, and I'm guarantee it's much higher than that."

"If what you're saying is true," Sylvester scratched his arms, "then that means there is a 7% chance any one of them could be found, and…," Sylvester gulped, unsure he should speak about the woman's sister, "because your sister was taken five years ago, if she's still alive, the chances of finding her are less than 2%."

"I understand finding my sister is almost an impossibility, but I don't care. I am determined to exhaust all of my options in finding her, dead _or_ alive."

Sylvester nervously gulped and sat down as Paige pushed her hair back and approached the French woman. "So," Paige bit her lip, "why recruit _me_?"

"I heard how successful Scorpion was so I thought, if anybody could help me take these scumbags down, it was Team Scorpion." Yvette replied honestly. "I recruited you," she looked directly at Paige, "because you would be an exceptional target for them, and Dmitri, without a doubt, would find you appealing, and he did."

"So you knowingly placed Paige's life in danger just so you could exact revenge?" Walter was clenching his right fist and gritting his teeth. "That's completely illogical!"

"I want to find my sister!" Yvette shouted. "You would do the same thing had you been in my position!"

"But…," Paige's hands started to shake, "if you wanted Dmitri to buy me…, then that means you want him to take me back to wherever he's from… to wherever he keeps his other enslaved women… even if that meant me never seeing my son," she inhaled a deep breath as her nose began to burn, "m-my son again."

Yvette nodded. "I was prepared to take that risk if necessary."

Paige suddenly felt sick. "Th-this was never about saving the women from being taken; th-this was about _you_ and finding your sister, no matter what the sacrifices were. Y-you don't care if I'm taken, do you?" When she didn't answer, Paige approached her and grabbed her by the shirt and shook her as hard as she could. "ANSWER ME!"

Cabe pulled Paige off of the woman, and Walter, who was suppressing the desire to break something for Paige's distress, dragged Paige away and pulled her into one of the bedrooms. He locked the door and pulled her towards the bed as she struggled against him. "You should rest," he advised quietly. "You've had a long day."

"No! I don't need to rest!" Paige tried pushing him away, but as an attempt to calm her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. She tried pushing him away from her. "Let go of me, Walter!"

"No."

"Let go of me!"

"Not a chance," he tightened his embrace around her and kissed her forehead. "I'm not going to let them take you, Paige."

She suddenly stopped moving as everything she had learned tonight finally sank in. "Sh-she was going to have me taken from my son, Walter. F-from you. From e-everything." Her throat started tightening again. "Oh God. Sh-she was going to have me taken, and b-by taking this case, I could l-lose everything."

"No. That's not going to happen," Walter lowered his lips to her shoulder and firmly pressed her against him. "I'm going to take you back to the garage tonight, and you and Ralph are going to stay with me. Because we _now_ know what's actually going on, you don't have to participate anymore. Homeland can take over from here. They're not going to take you, I promise."

Paige inhaled a deep, shaky breath and nodded, realizing this case was way beyond her element. "I want to see my son."

"Then let's go," Walter softly whispered into her ear. "Cabe can take care of Yvette."

After Walter released Paige from his embrace, he shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders before taking her hand in his and guiding her to the door to leave. "Wait," Paige stopped, causing the man to find her eyes immediately.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yvette said her sister was taken from her hotel room…."

"Yeah, and?"

"What if that's how these men acquire the women they buy, Walter?"

The genius's eyes popped wide open. "If they use these hotel rooms as a way to ensnare their targets, then we can use the hotel to our advantage."

"If they use the hotel rooms as a way to trap the women, then we can _also_ use them to devise a trap, too." Paige, suddenly feeling better, smiled as she squeezed Walter's hands. "We may be able to save those women after all."

Walter, completely and utterly impressed by Paige's epiphany, instinctively grabbed her cheeks and kissed her hard on the mouth. Paige, though absolutely surprised by his swift action, gladly approved of his method of appreciation and returned his sloppy, bruising kiss until the genius, just before his knees buckled, ripped himself away from her and tugged her eagerly towards the door. "Come on," he squeezed her hand. "We gotta tell Cabe!"

Paige just rolled her eyes playfully and licked her lips as she followed that crazy, adorkable man out the door.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **WriterFreak001:**

Heehee. I enjoyed this chapter immensely. :)

Let me know what you think!


	5. Onus

**WriterFreak001:**

Sorry for the delay! I'm behind on everything! ;~;

* * *

 **WARNING:**

I think by now you understand the warning.

* * *

 **Title** | Model Behavior

 **Fandom** | _Scorpion_ (CBS)

 **Description** | "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." This self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. She will be challenged in unexpected ways and may have to depend on her own strength to save not only her life, but also her freedom as she tries to save others in the process.

 **Rating** | This fanfiction will be rated T.

 **POV** | Limited Third Person

 **Disclaimer** | While CBS owns _**Scorpion**_ , I am the owner of this masterpiece.

 **Claimer** | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something _should_ be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 5:**

 **Onus**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

"That's actually a brilliant plan," Happy, impressed, folded her arms in front of her and smirked at the thought of capturing those lowlifes. "Use their own scheme against them. I like it."

"According to reports," Deputy Director Cooper, who had arrived shortly after Walter and Paige left for one of the bedrooms, waltzed about the common room and waved a folder in her hand, "all of the women missing were last seen before midnight. They were all reported missing by the following morning. If kidnappings tonight stay true to the pattern, then we have at most a seven hour window of time to catch these scumbags as they strike again."

"From now until morning," Cabe continued, "Katherine has placed security detail in each of the target's rooms; the women being pursued, however, don't know what's actually going on. We don't want them to panic so they're under the impression that the competition has provided the protection. That's all they need to know. Scorpion," Cabe glanced at the team, "will have a base in the room next to this one, keeping an eye on the surveillance system tracking the hallways. If a suspicious person approaches a room used by one of the targeted models, then security detail is to be notified immediately. We are going to catch these bastards before any more women go missing, and after they have been put into custody, Homeland will cooperate with CIA and FBI in learning the location of the missing women from _this_ competition. Interpol has been notified of what's going on and has agreed to cooperate as well. Agents, as we speak, are traveling to each of the trafficking lord's homes in search of any more missing women. They will notify CIA if they find anything definitive."

"To be clear," Toby rose his hand slowly, "Scorpion is _only_ assisting with the surveillance, correct? After these men are captured, are we to involve ourselves any further?"

"As of right now, Scorpion's involvement ends tonight after the men have been detained. Depending on the information we get out of them – if we _get_ anything out of them – will determine Scorpion's future cooperation." Katherine replied swiftly.

"Not to be a Debby Downer, but…," Sylvester bit his lip and clamped his sweaty hands underneath his arms before continuing, "what if the men we capture aren't even the men we're after? I mean, as Yvette said, her sister could have been kidnapped by a hired professional. While detaining these hires – if we don't capture the bad, bad men – may slow the sex trafficking operation down by 46%, the sex trafficking lords would still have an advantage over us."

"If that happens, then," Cabe exchanged a look with the deputy director before glancing at the team, "the FBI, CIA and Homeland agents will take over. As much faith as I have in you guys," Cabe gave Scorpion a small smile, "man-hunting is way beyond your element. One way or another, we will find our missing women and bring them home, but finding those women is not Scorpion's prerogative. We are simply assisting from a technological stance. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And what about Paige?" Walter asked quietly as he mindlessly hooked his arm around the middle of Paige's back and tugged her closer to him. "What is she going to do?"

As Cabe and Katherine both started to respond, Paige leaned into Walter's protective side hug and mumbled, "I have to be the bait, don't I?"

Walter immediately looked at her as Cabe frowned. "I wouldn't call it 'bait' per se, but you will have to pretend like you know nothing about this operation and blend in like the other women. You will also have security detail, but we can't remove you from this room if we want this operation to run smoothly. Otherwise, if you're missing, they'll be on alert instantly and will know something's up."

"But don't worry, Paige," Katherine gave the liaison an encouraging smile, "this is a solid plan. We won't let anything happen to you nor the other women."

"Okay," Paige nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat. "But… as much as I hate saying this… or even thinking of it, I think we should let them take me."

"What?!" / "Are you insane?!" / "Is that swimsuit on too tight?" Walter, Cabe and Toby exclaimed in unison as Happy and Sylvester's eyes popped open. Deputy Director Katherine Cooper, however, didn't seem too fazed by her suggestion.

"Just hear me out," Paige said as she slowly stepped forward, bringing Walter with her towards the agents. "If we capture them without knowing where they are keeping the missing women, then we may never find them no matter how hard these terrible men are interrogated. But, if I have some sort of tracker on me and let them take me, then there's a higher chance we can find those women, right?"

She looked at Sylvester pointedly, and he, against his better judgment, nodded. "If Paige lets herself be captured, then we have a 71% chance of finding those women. Those are better odds versus the 41% if Paige _doesn't_ get captured."

"Hang on," Toby cocked an eyebrow as he stared at Paige with confusion, "weren't you the one, barely half an hour ago, freaking out about possibly being taken in the first place? Why are you suddenly gung-ho about running into the fire?" Toby paused and slowly added, "You do realize, that _if_ you let yourself get taken, there _is_ a chance they'll figure you out, crush our plans, and stow you away with the other women before we have a chance to save you."

"I am aware of what's at stake," Paige promptly nodded. "And I know this seems out of the blue – even though I was falsely recruited to find the women in the first place, but… as scared as I am for even the possibility of losing everything, if I had a chance to save those women and didn't, I would never forgive myself."

"Paige…" Walter angled himself towards her and frowned.

Paige glanced at the clock and noted the time, 9:47 PM, and then looked at Cabe and Katherine. "Could you excuse us for a minute?" Both the agent and the deputy director nodded, and Paige led Walter into the bedroom where they had shared their second kiss. Once she had closed the door behind them, she sat down on the bed and encouraged him to sit next to her.

He slowly obeyed, and she immediately hooked her arm around his and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. "I know all of this seems crazy, Walter, but… please support me in this decision. It's not an easy one to make, and I know we've already had this discussion multiple times tonight, but I really need your support…." She closed her eyes and laced her fingers with his before squeezing his hand.

"I don't like this plan," Walter mumbled under his breath, and she sadly smiled.

"I know you don't, and I don't either, but I'm already involved in all of this. I can't just not see it through."

After an eternity of silence, Walter eventually spoke. "They could take you away forever, you know."

"I know," Paige kissed his shoulder.

"Ralph could never see his mother again," Walter added, and she nodded.

"I am aware of that as well."

He finally angled his head towards her and found her staring intently at him. "I… I might not see you again."

Paige inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly as she blinked back her tears. "I know that, too."

"But I know that won't happen," Walter gave Paige a small smile. "I believe in you, and I believe in Scorpion and everything that we can do." He paused as she grinned ear to ear and took in the beauty of her colorful smile. "I'll be… I'll be damned if I let anything happen to you, Paige."

"I know," Paige whispered softly as she closed her eyes again and snuggled closer to him. "I know you won't let anything happen to me, Walter… But," she lightly kissed his neck and gazed into his deep brown eyes, "if something does," she bit her lip and swallowed thickly, "If something _does_ happen to me, promise me you'll be there for Ralph and watch over him for me."

"Paige…"

"Just promise me, Walter." Paige pleaded quietly and quickly. "Please promise me you'll take care of Ralph for me."

Walter, hesitant to say yes, found himself asking "What about Drew?" instead.

"I talked to Drew when he visited last, and he's not interested having full custody of Ralph if something were ever to happen to me. He's back to playing baseball again and can't focus on being a full-time parent. He was, strangely, okay with me adding your name to the will, Walter," Paige explained as she lifted her head off of his shoulder and found the genius's dark brown eyes glancing at her. "And I know you would be a great parent to Ralph." She smiled. "You're fantastic at it already."

Walter, though flattered by Paige's admission, pursed his lips and spoke slowly. "If it ever comes down to it, then I'll step up and take care of Ralph for you, but nothing, and I repeat: nothing, is going to happen to you, Paige," Walter squeezed her hand gently. "Not on my watch."

"Speaking of which," Paige giggled as she pointed to the door, "We should probably get back out there. We can't keep them waiting." She stood up and started to walk, but Walter didn't move. He, instead, squeezed her hand tighter and tugged her towards him until she was standing directly in front of him.

"They can wait a few more minutes," Walter uncharacteristically mumbled, causing the woman to smirk.

In response, she threaded her fingers through his thick, curly hair and lightly scratched his scalp with her fingertips as he closed his eyes and enveloped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him. She cautiously climbed into his lap, moving slowly towards him in case he signaled her to stop, but when he welcomed her… when he lowered his hands to her ass and silently encouraged her to continue exactly what she was doing, she coiled her legs around his waist and rolled her hips lowly against his.

Carefully, she tilted Walter's head back, while cradling the nape of his neck, and gradually closed the distance between them in a sweet, long, loving kiss as Walter, with his arms now tightly secured around her, tipped backwards until she was on top of him, kissing him softly. Paige's fingers fluttered to his hair and weaved through his tamed curls, clutching strands between her fingertips as she kissed him deeper.

When she finally, and reluctantly, lifted her mouth off of his, a dorky grin colored Walter's pulsing lips, and Paige giggled as she dropped her cheek to his shoulder and gingerly kissed his neck. Walter, unsure what else to say, chuckled lowly. "And to think we were going to wait until _after_ the case to share our second first kiss."

Paige rolled her eyes and swatted his arm playfully. "You were the one who kissed _me_ earlier, remember?"

"Oh, I remember," Walter nodded swiftly as Paige crawled off of him and pushed herself off of the bed.

"Come on," Paige took his hand and pulled him up. "I asked for a minute, and we've been in here for," she checked the digital clock on the bedside table, "almost ten. They're going to start getting suspicious."

"Good point," Walter pursed his lips into a tight smile as Paige led him towards the door. "We certainly wouldn't want them to get any ideas."

"No, we wouldn't." Paige shook her head and bit her lip as she smiled at Walter. She picked up the jacket Walter had given her (how it fell off of her shoulders and onto the floor, she had no idea) and wrapped it around her as she slipped her arms through its sleeves before reaching for the door handle. After pulling the door open, she took Walter's hand and led him out of the room, and they both ignored the stares they were getting from Toby, Happy and Sylvester. Paige squeezed Walter's fingers as she sauntered towards Cabe and Katherine. They stopped their conversation and turned their attentions to Paige as though they were waiting for an answer. "We've discussed it, and I think you should let me be taken." She swiftly kissed the back of Walter's hand and added, "Walter agrees, too."

Cabe lifted an eyebrow and stared at Walter before the genius nodded in agreement. "This… course of action will guarantee the most success."

"But it could horribly fail, too!" Sylvester exclaimed as he, and the rest of the team, approached them.

"But there's _still_ a chance Paige could be successful, too." Walter replied way too quickly, feeling the need to defend Paige's decision. "She's right; being captured will lead CIA, FBI and Homeland straight to the missing women. If we want to maximize the successes in this assignment, then we need to exhaust the most logical option and have Paige be taken."

"I know it's crazy," Paige mindlessly leaned against Walter, "but more than half of the things we do in this company warrant crazy-ass things; this situation is _extremely_ different but crazy all the same."

"Are you sure about this, kid?" Cabe touched the woman's shoulder.

"Yes," Paige nodded with determination. "I am absolutely sure of this."

Cabe glanced at Walter. "And you approve?"

"Yes," Walter instinctively wrapped his arm around the middle of Paige's back and pulled her closer to him as he flashed a smile at her. "I do."

"Then it's settled," Cabe crossed his arms and turned towards the deputy director. "Are you okay with this?"

"No," Katherine shook her head, "but if we want to save those missing women, then it's as Walter says: the most logical option we have."

Cabe then looked at Happy, but before he could say anything, she rose her hands up and started walking backwards. "Create an untraceable tracker. Got it."

"I'll help," Toby said quickly as he followed the mechanic to the table near the back of the hotel suite.

"I'll do some hacking and see what I can find on these sex trafficking lords." Sylvester replied and walked swiftly towards his computer bag.

"And I'll let FBI, CIA and the other Homeland agents know what's going on so they do not engage." Katherine stated as she pulled out her phone and started heading towards the kitchen area of the suite.

"While everyone is working on their individual tasks, I'm going to question Yvette a little bit more," Cabe said to Walter and Paige before turning on his heels towards the back room where he had contained the woman shortly after Walter and Paige had disappeared into the other bedroom a while ago.

"What do _we_ do, then?" Paige muttered as she exchanged glances with Walter. He grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the bedroom again. Once they were away from the others and behind a closed door, he pulled out his phone and handed it to Paige.

"Call Ralph," Walter muttered quietly.

"No," Paige shook her head. "I don't want him to know what's going on."

"He doesn't have to, but you need to call him," Walter said as he firmly gripped her shoulders and stared deeply into her hazel eyes. "If not for your sake, then for his…. Just in case."

Paige inhaled a deep breath and nodded, understanding him immediately as she instantly thought of the possibility of never seeing her son again.

"…Okay."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **WriterFreak001:**

Things are heating up!

What do you think so far?


	6. Oversight

**WriterFreak001:**

So… I received a couple different responses to the last chapter. Some loved it, some were okay with it, and some were conflicted about it. I hope this chapter will be better for those (if you're still reading this story) who didn't like the fifth chapter.

* * *

 **Title** | Model Behavior

 **Fandom** | _Scorpion_ (CBS)

 **Description** | "As much as I don't like this… as much as I don't want to do this, it's something I have to do." This self-discovery fic is mostly focused on Paige as she encounters what could be her biggest trial yet as a member of Scorpion. She will be challenged in unexpected ways and may have to depend on her own strength to save not only her life, but also her freedom as she tries to save others in the process.

 **Rating** | This fanfiction will be rated T.

 **POV** | Limited Third Person

 **Disclaimer** | While CBS owns _**Scorpion**_ , I am the owner of this masterpiece.

 **Claimer** | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something _should_ be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 6:**

 **Oversight**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

Paige, for perhaps the fifth time in twenty minutes, glanced at the clock and picked at her fingernails as it drew closer to midnight. Twenty-four hours ago, she would have never thought she'd volunteer as bait to lead Homeland officials to a sex trafficking collection site, but here she was, sitting on the hotel bed, still wearing her swimsuit, still scared as hell that this operation might not work, and still conflicted about her "confident" decision.

Everyone, according to Walter, was in position in the next room.

She looked at the clock again.

11:45 PM.

Suddenly, she wasn't feeling so brave anymore.

"Walter," she muttered softly as she closed her eyes to calm her heart. "Walter," she repeated, and in seconds, her boyfriend walked across the dark corner of the room from his "station" (because he sure as hell wasn't going to leave Paige alone in this) and quietly sat down next to her on the bed. She immediately took out her comm device (which Walter did the same), hooked her arm around his and laid her head on his shoulder, not giving him a chance to ask her what was wrong. "I suddenly don't want to do this anymore." Walter was silent for a moment, but before he could say anything, she continued. "Earlier, for reasons I'm still trying to understand, I felt like I had to prove myself. I felt like _I_ had to be the hero and save those women's lives, but who am I kidding," she snuggled closer to Walter, "I'm not cut out for this."

"What do you want to do, then?"

"I don't want to do this anymore… I don't want to risk my life… my freedom… for something that _might_ not work. I don't have the training required for this type of operation…, and if things go south, I won't know how to defend those women – if they're found – from those sex trafficking lords. I have no combat training, and I'm just way over my head here. I don't know what I was thinking, Walter. Someone _else_ … someone _trained_ … should be the one to go undercover. Not me." She inhaled a shaky breath and kissed her boyfriend's shoulder. "I just want to go home and see my son."

Walter nodded and wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her closer to him. "Put your comm device back on and go to the bathroom. Hide in tub and lock the bathroom door. Be as quiet as possible."

"Where will you be?"

"Don't worry about me," Walter smirked as he covered her hand with his, "I have a plan."

"What will you tell Cooper and Cabe?" Paige asked as she stared at their hands and laced them together. "Do you think they'll be on board with this slight plan adjustment?"

"I don't know," Walter replied softly, "which is why I'm not going to tell them."

"Walter," Paige suddenly gave him a pointed look, "you can't _not_ tell them. They need to know."

"I'll tell them…," Walter whispered against her temple, "after the plan works."

"What makes you so sure the plan _will_ work?"

"Because," the genius gave his girlfriend a small smirk, "it worked once before."

"Oh? And what sort of plan is this?"

"The cellular kind," Walter shrugged and then both genius and liaison glanced up at the clock. 11:52 PM. "It's almost midnight, Paige. Go and hide."

"You'll hide too, yes?"

Walter nodded. "Yes. I'll hide too."

"Okay," Paige muttered as she grabbed her comm device, slowly slid off of the bed and then sauntered towards the bathroom with Walter in tow. As she opened the door, she spun around and met Walter's deep brown eyes. "Are you sure this will work?"

"Absolutely," Walter gave her an encouraging smile. "Trust me, okay?"

"I do," Paige slowly grinned. "I do trust you, Walter."

"Good," Walter whispered as he gently pushed Paige inside the bathroom. "Now hide."

"Okay," she nodded and started to turn towards the tub, but she immediately pivoted back around on her toes and promptly kissed Walter hard on the mouth. He stumbled backwards a little as she strung her arms around him and plunged her fingers into his dark curls. She then abruptly tore her lips from his with a popping sound and bit her lips as she stepped backwards into the bathroom.

Walter's pulsing lips stayed puckered a little longer than necessary before he crash-landed into reality and relaxed his mouth. "W-What was that for?"

Paige shrugged as she stepped into the shower and crouched low inside the tub. "Call it… a good luck kiss."

Walter cocked an eyebrow. "But luck doesn't exist."

"Tonight it does," Paige whispered as she slid the curtains in front of her and quieted her breath before mumbling, "Be careful, Walter."

"Don't worry," Walter stage-whispered into the bathroom. "I will be."

And after he closed the door, he frowned.

Just how the hell was he going to activate his plan without being noticed?

 **~ SCORPION ~**

"You know… maybe it was a bad idea for Paige to lead us to the missing women," Sylvester frowned as he glanced at Cabe and Katherine. "She's not trained, and now that I think about it, the odds would be more favorable if a trained agent took her place. I feel bad for encouraging her decision."

"I don't like this either," Cabe sighed, "and I should have ignored her request from the beginning, but beyond my understanding, she seemed onboard with the idea to allow herself to be taken. I don't know if she felt like she had something to prove, but I shouldn't have allowed her to offer herself up like that. I don't know what the hell I was thinking, but it's too late now to do anything. It's almost midnight."

"Let's just hope all of this works in our favor," Katherine muttered under her breath.

Toby suddenly rose from his seat and approached Cabe and Katherine. "If these men have been in this business for such a long time, they're not going to want to out themselves; they'll most likely have scouts to do the dirty work. Less chance of them getting caught. I've studied the case file, and they're smart. They're changing up the number of women they buy and kidnap each time. It's not consistent, so there's no way in telling how many apprehenders they have on their payroll."

"What's the most amount of women taken in one single night?" Cabe asked, and Sylvester looked up from his computer and said, "Six. The maximum has always been six."

"Then…," Toby hummed as he tapped his chin, "assuming they don't want to draw attention, they probably have an apprehender assigned to one woman, meaning, we have at most five apprehenders to confront, and one to follow. We have six women targeted so that leads me to believe they're collecting big and leaving the country within the night. We'll need to find those women fast; otherwise, this whole operation will be for nothing."

"Are you sure you can't pinpoint a probable location?" Cabe crossed his arms and cocked his head as Toby shook his head.

"Based on all of the different ports and warehouses out here, it would be almost impossible… unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Sly," Toby hovered over the human calculator's shoulder, "Have you checked the surveillance around the hotel in the last few days?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Did you find anything out of the ordinary?"

"Actually, no. I didn't. I didn't see anybody taken against their will or people sneaking in or outside of the hotel. Seemed normal to me, but I just assumed these apprehenders are highly skilled ninjas or something." Sylvester replied quietly as he pushed his glasses towards the bridge of his nose. "I know that face, Toby. What're you thinking?"

"Yvette said that, by the time she arrived to her sister's hotel room, her sister was gone." Toby muttered as he glanced at Cabe. "That means her sister's apprehender didn't leave from the front entrance, and it also implies that he entered the same way he left." Toby turned to Sylvester. "Sly, you need to look up the blueprints for this hotel and see if there are any hidden passage ways or entries with easy accesses."

"On it," Sylvester nodded as his fingers tapped away at the keyboard.

Toby then returned his attention to Cabe. "If the apprehenders, from previous nights, weren't spotted entering the building from any of the security cameras, then then it's possible they never _needed_ to enter the building. Perhaps they're already here." Toby frowned. "And if they're already here and weren't spotted taking any women, then that means the location of the missing women is most likely somewhere inside this building – probably the basement."

"We can't know that for sure, though." Deputy Director Katherine Cooper pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "How certain are you?"

"As certain as I am of everything," Toby deadpanned as he whipped his head around to Sylvester. "Find anything?"

"I think so…. I just cross-referenced the designer of the hotel with the other known hotels in which this trafficking organization utilized in the last ten years, and, as it turns out, the hotels are all designed by the same man and _always_ located within walking distance of a city arena. Those can't be coincidences." Sylvester clicked to the next internet tab. "The blueprints of all of the hotels are essentially the same. Even all of the rooms are soundproof! Who builds soundproofed rooms for hotels?!"

Toby, Cabe, Katherine and Happy hovered over Sylvester's shoulder. "You know…," Happy pointed to the structure on the screen, "I did think this hotel looked funny upon first glance. There are twelve floors with _only_ four rooms to a floor. Most hotels have at least fifteen if not twenty depending on the layout of the building…, but four rooms to a floor? That's too bizarre."

"All rooms face a direction: North, South, East and West, and not a single room on the same floor faces the same direction." Toby added. "The rooms are huge, too. For all rooms to be that size is highly uncommon in a hotel. It's almost like these buildings were made to look like apartments rather than hotel rooms."

"Something's not right," Happy frowned. "The blueprints show that each hotel room fits the dimensions described here," she pointed to the figures on the screen; "however," she straightened her back and folded her arms in front of her, "when we were in Paige's hotel room or suite or whatever, I analyzed the size of the space, and it was, by almost a foot and a half shorter on the back end. The only part of the back side of the apartment that meets the dimensions is the bathroom. But that's it."

"What are you suggesting, Happy?" Cabe braced himself for her answer, but he already knew he wasn't going to like it.

"I think, in all of the rooms, there is a hidden shaft of some sort probably leading down to a cellar or a basement. If my theory is right, then the missing women are probably below this building, maybe even in a sublevel underneath the basement. If that's the case, then we need to act _now_."

"We can't act on a theory," Katherine groaned as she rubbed her temples. "How certain are you?"

Before the mechanic could answer, they heard a heavy mixture of gunshots and shrilling screams echoing from their audio feed.

Happy clenched her fists. "I'm damn certain."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **WriterFreak001:**

I hope this chapter helped people understand Paige more. I had fun writing it so please let me know what you think! Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated! :D


	7. Approach

**WriterFreak001:**

I suspect this story will have one more chapter. I'm not going to drag this out much further, lmao. I had bigger plans for it, but… I don't want to turn this into a _Taken_ story. I think I'm going to make this a lot simpler than I originally wanted.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

I think, by now, you know the story information. ;)

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 7:**

 **Approach**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

Paige, nervous and scared as hell, covered her mouth with her hands as dozens of screams echoed around her. She clenched her eyes shut and held her breath when she heard footsteps resounding from behind the shower curtain. Heavy thuds approached the bathtub, and she squeezed her body together as tightly as she could as her heart pounded in her ears. She was sure the entire city could hear it, but the person behind the curtain seemed oblivious to her fear.

The footfalls grew louder, and she blanched as a black, gloved hand wrapped its fingers around the end of the shower curtain, opposite to the side of the tub where she was hiding.

But when she heard a phone ring from the other side of the wall, the footsteps retreated towards the bathroom door leading to the common room. Slowly and quietly, she sighed in relief but didn't dare move from the tub. Walter said he had a plan, and no matter how bizarre it could potentially be, she trusted him with all her heart.

She trusted him to keep her safe.

 **~ SCORPION ~**

Walter hid inside the closet just inside the bedroom Paige would have been sleeping in, and he slowed his breathing when he heard the door creak open. As expected, a man dressed in black, carrying a small side bag over his shoulder – probably filled with sedatives – crept towards the bed. As the figure peeled back the sheets, Walter slid the closet door open and leapt out of it before jumping onto the back of Paige's would-be-apprehender.

He had his arms and legs wrapped tightly around the man as they grappled on the floor, but the man in black was infinitely stronger and more athletic than the genius, sending a blow to Walter's stomach with his elbow. Walter doubled over and fell backwards, and as the man returned to the bed, Walter recovered and slipped his hand into the man's bag, pulling out a sedative syringe. Without hesitation, the super genius aimed the sharp needle for the assailant, but the syringe was easily knocked out of Walter's hand.

Walter scrambled for it, but, as predicted, the assailant was faster and snatched it off of the floor before stabbing the needle into Walter's leg. Walter hissed in pain as fluid was injected into his body, and he started to sway back and forth. As he hit the ground, the man in black returned to his task and peeled down the covers but cursed loudly when all he found were pillows. He gave Walter a distasteful frown and kicked him hard in the ribs before bolting towards the bathroom, leaving emptyhanded.

And when Walter was sure the man was gone, he coughed and clutched his side as he pushed himself up. Ignoring his pain, he swiftly approached the bathroom and deliberately walked towards the tub, not wanting to frighten his girlfriend. "Paige?"

The curtains drew open slowly. "W-Walter?"

"Thank God," Walter muttered as he raced up to her. His hands were immediately on her cheeks. "He didn't find you, did he?"

She shook her head. "No. He didn't."

"Good," Walter pulled her into his arms and helped her out of the tub. Paige took a moment and hugged her boyfriend as she pressed her cheek against his chest. She kissed his neck and squeezed him tightly.

"Thank you for keeping me safe."

Walter dropped a kiss to the top of her head and nodded. "Come," he took her hand in his and led her to the door, "we still have a lot to get done, tonight."

"Okay."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

Minutes after the assailant left the Paige's hotel suite, Walter, with a protective arm around the middle of Paige's back, walked his girlfriend to the suite next door, and they reconvened with the other members of Scorpion.

"Enlighten me, O'Brien. I saw him stick you with a needle," Toby mused as he approached the couple. "How are you still walking?"

"I anticipated him having a bag of sedatives on his person in case they were needed during the capture. Before he arrived, I found your medical bag – you know, the one you left in there - next to the bathroom door and filled one of them with water. Since it was dark, I knew he would have trouble seeing so as I grappled with him, I pretended to grab one of his syringes to keep his focus off of the ones he actually carried." Walter replied as he and Paige approached the computers.

"Okay, that makes sense then. Because you filled the syringe with water, it wouldn't have any effect on you." Toby mused, "I'm guessing you did a little bit of acting?"

Walter nodded. "If you give me a few seconds," he shooed Sylvester away from the laptop, "I can track him down, and we'll be able to trace his moves back to his destination. Odds are, he'll return to where all of the other women are."

"He's not going to go back empty, though," Happy frowned as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "He'll find another woman and take her instead. Otherwise, his employers will kill him for screwing up."

"I'm still stuck on how you're going to track him, Walter," Cabe cocked an eyebrow as he hovered over the super genius's shoulder. "How the hell do you plan to do that?"

"Simple," Walter blinked. "GPS tracking."

Suddenly Paige pieced it together. "When you pretended to grab for one of his sedatives, you dropped your phone into his bag and buried it underneath the syringes."

Walter grinned proudly at his girlfriend and nodded. "Exactly."

"Oooo the ole switcheroo technique," Toby chuckled, adding, "Thank goodness your phone's lightweight. Otherwise, he would have noticed."

"I don't think he did," Walter said as he tapped away at the computer. "And I'm in. He's still on the move."

"What makes you think he will return?" Sly gulped, and Toby turned to answer him.

"Because, since he didn't get what he came for, he'll want to tell his boss and inform him that somebody's onto them."

"Then we need to intercept him," Cabe said quickly, giving a small nod to Deputy Director Cooper. "We can't let him get to his boss."

"If we intercept the apprehender," Walter swiftly replied, "then those other women are as good as gone. If he doesn't show, they'll be suspicious anyway so if we at least let him return to his boss, we can then know where they're waiting for him. We can give the location to CIA, FBI, and Homeland, and the agents can take the case from there. All we need to do is give an address. The professionals can handle the rest."

Toby lifted an eyebrow. "Since when were you one to turn down an opportunity to save the world, 197?"

Walter ignored the shrink and focused on the screen as Paige mindlessly massaged his shoulders. "Any minute now."

"There!" Toby exclaimed as he pointed to a building ahead of the apprehender's path. "That's a warehouse housing barge crates before they're shipped to their destination! If these bastards are wanting to stay under the radar, then they would hide and ship the women in barge crates before flying back to their home countries. They probably pay someone off to mark these crates off so no one checks them before they're loaded onto the barges."

"There could be a hundred barges in there," Cabe and Katherine exclaimed together. "There's no way we can search all of them," the deputy director frowned.

"Snipers have infrared cameras," Happy said quietly. "If the FBI and Homeland use their snipers to scan through the crates with their cameras, then they should be able to find the women faster than if everyone searched each crate. If they spot a few crates with a bundle of heat signatures, then those are the crates we'd want to search first."

"Good idea," Cabe nodded. "I'll talk to FBI and CIA and inform them of the plan."

"And I'll talk to Homeland," Katherine replied immediately. She started to turn around but paused and looked at Toby. "How sure are you that you're right?"

"I'm always right," Toby deadpanned, and she looked at Walter for reassurance. The super genius gave the woman a slight nod, giving her everything she needed to know before she walked away.

Toby frowned. "Why didn't she trust me?"

"Gee, I don't know," Walter shrugged as he glanced at the shrink, "maybe it's because you still haven't filed your taxes."

"How would she know that, though?"

"She's our Homeland liaison," Paige quietly spoke. "She's responsible for checking up on us and making sure we're representing the country well."

"Pah!" Toby scoffed. "If she ever saw how we act in the garage, she'd have a very different opinion of us."

"Maybe of _you_ ," Sylvester mumbled, causing Walter, Paige, and Happy to chuckle. Toby rolled his eyes dramatically as both Cabe and Katherine returned.

"FBI and CIA operatives are in position. Once they receive word from the snipers, they're going to charge the building and arrest those sons of bitches." Cabe said as he shoved his phone into his pocket. He looked at Katherine. "What did Homeland say?"

"They're blocking all seaports and surrounding highways and are on the lookout for any suspicious persons." Katherine inhaled a deep breath and released it quickly. "They won't move in unless necessary."

"What do we do while they run the operation and save those women?" Sylvester asked as he pushed his glasses up along the bridge of his nose and then wiped the sweat off of his hands.

Katherine shrugged. "We wait."

…

A few silent minutes passed when Cabe received a call. He answered it quickly and gave incoherent responses before ending the call. "The snipers found six different crates filled with bundles of heat signatures. They're moving in on them as we speak."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

* * *

 **WriterFreak001:**

I don't know about this chapter…. It was hard to write for some reason so I'm sorry if it seemed rushed. :/ Anyway, you know the drill!


	8. Epilogue

**WriterFreak001:**

And here is the last installment!

* * *

 **Model Behavior**

 **Written by WriterFreak001**

 **Chapter 8:**

 **Epilogue**

 **~ S** **CORPION ~**

" _We are onsite at an ongoing investigation at a local barge facility in Los Angeles where multiple foreign men were arrested for running and/or assisting a large covert sex trafficking operation at the Staples Center. The men in question were believed to be coordinating a bikini model competition to lure women from all over the state to participate in an auction, unknowingly. Over twenty women were found and rescued by the cooperation of Homeland Security, the FBI and CIA, but if it wasn't for the courage of a young woman who wished to remain anonymous for going in undercover to help expose this operation, the likelihood of finding the missing women and returning them to their families would have been very slim. Interpol will be taking custody of the suspects and will conduct their own investigation, in hopes of finding and returning other sex trafficking victims. This is Br—"_

"Hey! I was watching that!" Toby exclaimed as Walter tossed the remote onto his desk.

Walter rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly. "We were there, Toby. We know what happened. No sense in reliving in the past."

"But I was going to see if they ever mention Scorpion in their report! It would be great publicity, you know? And I know you like publicity, 197." Toby folded his arms and gave Walter a pointed look.

"They're not going to mention Scorpion. I specifically told all of the reporters to keep the company name out of the reports." Walter replied with a shrug as he circled around his desk and plopped down in his chair before looking at Toby who was walking towards him. "If you remember, Paige asked to remain anonymous. It would defeat the purpose for her to remain anonymous if Scorpion was mentioned because a lot of people – some of her friends outside of the Cyclone, Ralph's classmates and their parents, Ralph's school teachers – know Paige is an employee here. If anybody found out she went undercover at a sex trafficking operation to pose as a bikini model, it could backlash on her reputation as a responsible mother to Ralph. She didn't want that, and Ralph doesn't deserve it."

"Okay so she didn't want to be recognized for her valiant efforts. I get it, but you and I were both there." Toby shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned slightly forward towards Walter. There were thousands of people in the audience and thousands of cameras. You and I both know how fast pictures travel around the web; it's only a matter of time before a picture of Paige in a bikini is sent around the World Wide Web. Even if her name is not mentioned in the reports, there are bound to be people who would recognize her."

Walter blanched. For an acclaimed world class tech expert, he didn't even think about the photos. He was suddenly logging onto his computer.

"What are you thinking, Walter?"

"I'm going to run an algorithm that will find and delete all digital copies of Paige at that competition." Walter mumbled as he began tapping on the keyboard.

"That could take days," Toby frowned. "The only way you're going to get that to work is if you know where to locate a super computer and upload the algorithm."

An idea suddenly popped into his head and gave Toby a knowing look. "Remember those kids we saved at Oceanside University – the ones who uploaded that malware to the Quantum to shut down the Federal Reserve?"

"I know what you're thinking, Walt, but I doubt Oceanside University will let us use their Quantum after we stole their astronaut suits and broke into their quantum housing facility." Toby picked up his hat and twirled it. "Unless you know someone who owes you big time, you're out of luck."

"You could always try schmoozing up your pal, Elia. I bet he could get you in," Happy suddenly said from her desk, forcing the men to look at her. "I wouldn't be surprised if he actually helped build the thing."

Walter hummed quietly and leaned against his desk. "I _did_ help save those people trapped in Elia's smart building…."

Toby scrunched his face up and cocked his chin. "I wouldn't use that memory if I were you. Remember, you were also the reason it was planted into the building's software in the first place."

Walter glowered at him.

"Uh-oh," Cabe remarked as he walked into the garage, "What's that face for, 197?"

"I was just reminding him about one of his not-so-proud moments," Toby chuckled as Cabe approached Walter's desk.

"Which one? I've lost count," Cabe asked as he winked at Walter.

Walter scowled at the agent and returned his attention to his computer to continue with his algorithm.

"But seriously, why are you typing like a madman?" Cabe cocked an eyebrow and sipped his coffee.

"He's creating an algorithm to remove all pictures of Paige from the modeling competition to salvage her reputation." Happy replied casually as she clapped dust off of her hands. "Only problem is, Walt needs a super computer, preferably a Quantum – to successfully work his algorithm."

"Oceanside University's probably not going to be so generous considering all of the damage we inflicted when we were undercover a few months ago." Toby added as he exchanged a look with Cabe. "Elia's probably a bust, too."

Cabe turned towards Walter and said, "Finish the algorithm. Since it's related to the case we just helped solve, I can get you in. If Oceanside University protests, they won't like me very much."

"Give me ten minutes," Walter replied distantly. "I'll have the algorithm done by then."

 **~ SCORPION ~**

"I'm glad to be home," Paige whispered against Walter's neck as she weaved her fingers through his curly hair. "These past few days have been crazy."

"No kidding." Walter mumbled before pressing a kiss to Paige's temple. "I'm also glad this case is over. It was just… way beyond any of us, and we may have helped keep twenty-some women from being taken overseas, but sex trafficking is still a problem out there."

"Unfortunately," Paige laced her fingers with his, "I doubt it will ever be completely stopped. There are just some very evil people out there, and it's virtually impossible to stop them all, but," she kissed his cheek lovingly, "Scorpion _did_ help save several lives, and now Interpol is going to conduct their own investigation. It's a big start, if anything."

"Yes," Walter nodded in agreement. He angled himself towards her and gently caressed her jaw. "I know you purposely didn't watch the news the past few days, but the reporters, despite not mentioning your name, are right." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "Without your bravery, we may have never found those women. I know… I know the case started out as a fluke, but it worked out in the end," he smiled. "I'm proud of you."

Paige kissed the back of his hand and rubbed her thumb across his thumb knuckle. "I want to thank you, Walter," she glided her hand to the base of his neck and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"For what?"

"For always having faith in me," Paige shrugged as she scooted in closer to him, resting her head on top of his collarbone and draping an arm across his chest. "You didn't push me to do this assignment and was very supportive of my decision when I wanted out. I really appreciate that, Walter," she looked up at him, and he smiled as he kissed her gingerly.

"Paige," Walter carefully sat up against the pillows behind him, bringing her upward with him, and eagerly took her hands in his. "I know… I know this relationship is new for us… new for the team… new for Ralph…, but… I just want you to know," he gazed deeply into her eyes and rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles, "I want you to know that you don't have anything to prove to me, or the team, or to anybody. You originally said you took the case because you felt like you had something to prove, but I guarantee you," he squeezed her hands, "you need to prove nothing. You're amazing just as you are, and you're significant to Scorpion in every way, and I apologize if it's something I did to make you think otherwise, but you're pertinent to this team…," he paused as his hands trailed up her arms and cupped her face gently. "You're… you're pertinent to Ralph… and… and to me." He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to him. "I… I hope you understand that."

Paige closed her eyes and blinked back her tears while she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and hugged him tightly, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. "I do," she whispered as she kissed his collarbone. "I do know that."

"Good," Walter pressed a kiss to the top of her head, holding her as though he was protecting her from the rest of the world. "I'm glad."

Paige suddenly shifted in her bed as Walter started to hover over her and reached for her TV remote as he cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "As much as I would _love_ to continue gratifying you from earlier at the garage for uploading that algorithm for me, I've got a kid in the next room who does not need to be mentally scarred with the sounds of his mentor pleasing his mother in the middle of the night, so!" Paige smoothed down her tank top and turned on the TV, "I recorded a Disney movie this morning I thought we could watch. It was one of my favorites back when I was a teenager."

"What movie?"

"Model Behavior," Paige laughed as she searched her recordings.

"Oh, that's funny," Walter mumbled with a hint of sarcasm, causing Paige to giggle even more.

"Trust me," Paige snuggled back against him and started playing the recording, "This movie has a happy ending."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure," Walter muttered, completely focused on the woman in his arms. She caught him staring at her, and he licked his lips slowly. Paige was suddenly kissing him hard on the mouth, dragging him down with her as she scooted downward on the bed. Her arms encircled him and curled through his hair as he pressed his body against hers, ignoring the movie in the background.

He kissed her deeper, feeling her tongue flutter against his, when he suddenly tore his mouth off with a pop and curiously lifted an eyebrow at her. "What's a Disney?"

 **~ SCORPION ~**

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 **WriterFreak001:**

I hope you enjoyed the ending chapter! :)

I had fun writing it. :D


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